A Beautiful Occurrence
by TUMe
Summary: A story about I-need-a-wife! Sasuke, I-am-not-a-girl-teme! Naruto and courting. If people can call that courting. SasuNaru MPreg
1. I Don't Want to Owe You Anything

Edited by Obscure Omen.

Disclaimer: Naruto is © to Kishimoto, a Japanese mangaka.

A SasuNaru story. A slow kind.

**Chapter 1: I don't want to owe you anything**

Naruto couldn't breathe properly. The sudden attack he received from Itachi had almost paralyzed him—and it would have, if he had been two seconds slower. This encounter with an Akatsuki member was the last thing that he needed, let alone two Akatsuki members.

Itachi and Kisame.

He and his comrades—Sakura, Kakashi-sensei and Sai—were in yet another Sasuke retrieval mission when they suddenly detected two familiar chakras tailing them in a very discreet manner. If not for Kakashi-sensei's nin-dog, they wouldn't have realized the two missing nins were following them at all.

And they were so close to finding Sasuke and his team, too.

One of Naruto's clones had picked up a scent trail of one of Sasuke's subordinates—definitely the girl, given that it was the smell of menstrual blood. Sasuke wouldn't make a stupid mistake like leaving a blood scent trail behind him for other people to find. But, obviously, in this case, it was inevitable.

Now, the chance to actually catching up to Sasuke was ruined.

_Damn Itachi._

The battle had initially been easy on the Konoha ninjas—it was a four-against-two fight, after all. However, determination to find Sasuke overclouded their judgments, and all of them were getting hasty to get rid of their enemies as quick as possible.

This proved to be a very fatal mistake on their part.

Itachi, being the genius that he was, had seen all of this coming and planned ahead of time. He knew that all of these Konoha ninjas were searching for his little brother and were becoming more anxious every day to find their teammate. After all, he had been researching the Kyuubi-holder for God knew how long now. So, by default, he knew every little progress of this seemingly important mission of theirs. And, in his observation, they were getting very impatient, for the chasing had been going on for years.

That was how he could easily trap them in his genjutsu—even Kakashi-sensei, a fellow Sharingan-wielder. He was no match for pure-blooded Sharingan power.

Entranced in the illusion of the Sharingan, the three of them were lost into a semi-conscious dream and dropped to the ground like heavy logs.

"What have you done to them, you sicko?" Except for Naruto.

"Nothing that you need to know. They will only get in the way of my mission."

Itachi conveniently left Naruto out from the illusion spell; he had other plan for the Kyuubi holder.

"You bastard!"

Naruto snarled. Mad that his comrades were under the mercy of the sick Uchiha, he unconsciously tapped into the Kyuubi's chakra reserves, subsequently elongating his fangs and claws and making the whisker marks on his cheeks more prominent. Soon, Naruto looked like a humanized version of the fox demon, with angry red chakra seeping out of him and a pair of slitted, red eyes.

"I'm gonna kill ya!"

He lunged toward Itachi, who was stood calmly, watching the Kyuubi-holder's transformation. Not missing a beat, Itachi dodged it easily. In his blind fury, Naruto would never hit his target. Sure, he had a lot of power—one blow and that would be the end of the battle.

But only if he was able to connect the blow.

Itachi smirked. This was really too easy. Everything was going smoothly for his plan. That idiot boy was so very easy to manipulate. In this situation, he would get what he wanted; the boy was too overwhelmed by his emotion to control his power properly. Strangely, he pitied Konoha. If this was the new generation of Konoha shinobi—shinobi who couldn't even control their emotion during battle—he was glad he left the village long ago.

If it were up to him, he would never revisit that village again. But, since he was stuck in the mission to capture the nine-tailed demon's container, he couldn't avoid it anymore. Honestly, he didn't know why Leader-sama assigned him to capture the brat, the most powerful bijuu of them all. He would like to think because he was the strongest amongst all the Akatsuki members, but that was only his wishful thinking. The reason was quite obvious, actually: He was the only one who was remotely knowledgeable about the secret of the Kyuubi. The Third had done a good job in covering the secret; there was hardly anyone who knew about it—except for the older generations of Konoha. And they never wanted to talk about it, leaving Itachi, part of the younger generation, blissfully unaware of that secret.

Until that fateful day

It was the same day that he discovered about the secret of his clan—the Mangekyou Sharingan, which was stored deep in the Uchiha clan shrine. Someone obviously disregarded the Hokage's rules and kept a log report about the Kyuubi incident, quite thoroughly too. From there, he learned just how powerful the Kyuubi was. He could still remember how his body tingled with rushed excitement from just reading about it.

And now he got to see for himself the Kyuubi's power before his own eyes. It might not be as impressive as the Kyuubi itself, but it was enough for now. The time when he could the see the Kyuubi's real power would come eventually, when they managed to catch all the bijuu and extracted their power. All he had to do was catch this Naruto boy.

It was still startling to find out that this was the boy who carried the Kyuubi's power within him—and that he was his little brother's teammate, too. What a disturbing coincidence. For Itachi, his brother was just a nuisance, a hindrance in his mission. That stupid brother of his would never be a good enough fighter to waste his time with. He would rather try fighting this incredible creature standing before him and die trying than face his little brother.

Itachi was no idiot. He knew he might die fighting this boy. Even though he was a powerful shinobi himself, he knew he would never win against the boy if Naruto used the Kyuubi. That was why he had come up with a plan to defeat him. Unfortunately for him and Kisame, the plan was not terribly easy to carry out. But, with emotion whacking the boy's rationality, the plan _was_ easy. He of all people knew the truth: Emotion made people weak.

All he had to do was immobilize the boy somehow, long enough for his partner Kisame to do his part. He didn't have much time. Trapping the three shinobis in the genjutsu and fighting Naruto—who was using Kyuubi's chakra—simultaneously had drained most of his own reserves.

This time, instead of Naruto, Itachi was the one to lunge forward, successfully bringing the boy down with his body. The pain—like a thousand kunai piercing through him—from the collision with the fox's angry chakra was so intense that he almost blacked out, forcing him to use his own chakra as a kind of shield to overcome the pain

_Shit. This hurts like hell. I can't keep him down any longer._

"Kisame, now!"

Temporarily surprised by the sudden cry, Naruto froze, still trapped under Itachi. A split second later, he saw Kisame looming over him, pointing a very big, ancient sword towards his chest.

_Squech._

The sword pierced his chest, Naruto spluttering blood.

_What the hell?_

The physical pain was unbearable, but that wasn't all. He could feel his chakra draining rapidly from his body, like somebody was sucking out all the air in his lungs with a vacuum. To his horror, the Kyuubi's chakra was also affected by this. Little by little, the red chakra engulfing him became thinner as he became weaker.

From the corner of his eyes, he saw Itachi staggered off of him, obviously in a bad condition.

_What have they done to me?_

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sasuke and his subordinates—Team Hebi—were aware that their pursuers were getting closer. He could recognize those three familiar chakras anywhere.

But that's not what caught his attention the most: It was his brother, Itachi. Then again, when was Itachi not in possession of his utmost attention? He always was, ever since the clan massacre.

He could sense his bastard of a brother pursuing his pursuers.

Until now, seeking his brother's trail was a difficult task for Hebi. If Itachi decided not to show himself to them, they wouldn't get any clues to where he was. The only clues they had been able to scrounge up were from the information given to them from random people that had seen those two criminals, which was very rare, too. Being in Akatsuki must had taught Itachi a lot in the art of hiding himself well, seeing that all the members of Akatsuki were criminals hunted by almost every ninja villages.

So, to Sasuke, this coincidence was like winning the lottery.

_He must be in some kind of tight condition to let his guard down like this._

"Sasuke..." Karin started.

"I know," Sasuke cut her off. "Let's go."

With one final look at his team, Sasuke took off in the chakra burst's direction, the rest of his team following closely behind him.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Upon arriving at the battle scene, they were shocked to see a shark-like man struggling to hold a giant sword over a blonde boy lying on the ground. A red-glow chakra seemed to be dispersing around them.

"What happened here?" Suigetsu voiced the question that everybody had in mind.

Nobody answered him. He didn't expect one, either.

Aside from the scene, there was Itachi standing with shaky legs, his face bloody from the fight. The instant Sasuke's eyes locked on his brother, an uncontrolled anger bubbled inside of him, automatically activating his Sharigan—now spotted with three commas, just like his brother's.

From Sasuke's observations, Itachi looked like he just got hit by lightning: a bloodied face, torn uniform, singed hair—and was that a broken arm? Judging from his brother's condition, he knew Itachi had been fighting with Naruto—and the fact that the skies were clear kind of ruled out lightning.

_Naruto. I should have guessed._

This just made Sasuke angrier. Once again, Itachi ignored him in favor of fighting Naruto, his stupid ex-teammate.

Itachi disregarded him, not deeming Sasuke worthy enough for even a spare glance.

Sasuke needed to change that. He had improved, had become strong. There was no better time than now to show Itachi just that. If he was lucky, he would get to kill Itachi in the process. Wait, that didn't sound right. He didn't need _luck_ to kill Itachi; he was strong enough now to kill Itachi just by his whim

"Itachi. Fight me," Sasuke growled, hands clenching in silent fury.

"Go away, stupid little brother. I don't have time for your petty play." Still completely ignoring Sasuke, the older Uchiha instructed Kisame to haul the nearly-dead boy and prepared to leave. He really didn't want that nuisance to interrupt his nearly successful plan now.

Sasuke saw red.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Suigetsu watched his captain fly at the long-haired ninja with lightning speed. Instinctively, his focus shifted to the shark-like person holding the blond boy on his shoulder. He definitely didn't miss the sword the guy was holding: an ancient sword with the power to deflect and absorb chakra.

At once, he knew who his opponent would be. A glance was shared between the teammates was all it took to reach a conclusion. They knew better than to interrupt the captain's battle. The consequences of it would definitely not be pretty. With caution, they approached the blue-skinned man.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It felt like eons before the destined battles ended.

Now, both Itachi and Kisame were dead.

An euphoric feeling like no other engulfed Sasuke. He felt like laughing hysterically—if only he were the laughing type. Instead he settled with standing very still over his brother's dead body. He nudged the side of the corpse with his foot, fully knowing that this damned person would never move again.

_Ever _again.

Sasuke felt like glowing. He felt accomplished. He wanted nothing but to shout to the world that he had fulfilled his duty as the Uchiha clan avenger.

He finally, _finally_ got his revenge.

This was definitely the most defining moment in his life, and he felt as if he could immerse in this beautiful feeling until he died, a happy man.

Until someone spoke.

"What are we gonna do with this trash?"

That was Suigetsu, the only one insensitive enough to break the eerie silence. Only at this kind of moment were Karin and Juugo thankful for his insensitive behavior. Having Sasuke as their captain was creepy enough; the Sasuke they saw now was just plain scary. Somebody had to stop him.

For the first time in a long while, Sasuke became aware of his surroundings. Kakashi, Sakura, and his replacement—what was his name again?—were lying on the ground alongside what seemed to be Naruto's corpse.

"Are they all dead?" Sasuke deadpanned.

"Those three there are still breathing. They seem to be trapped in a powerful genjutsu." Karin blurted out, caught by surprise by Sasuke's sudden inquiry.

Sasuke's gaze shifted to Naruto.

Following Sasuke's eyes, Karin continued, "This one looks like he's gonna die any minute now. His chakra is too low for him to survive."

_Low chakra? That usurontakachi? That's almost impossible. What's happened here?_

Sasuke furrowed his brow. Walking ever so slowly, he reached Naruto's side only to see and hear the boy's ragged breaths as he struggled just to inhale air into his lungs.

Seeing Naruto like this, made Sasuke realize something: Deep down, he owed something to this boy.

After all, this boy, albeit unintentionally, had brought Itachi to him. Or him to Itachi.

This boy—even if he would never admit it out loud—had a role in helping him kill Itachi. He also had to admit—only to himself, of course—that he might not have successfully killed Itachi if not for the fight Itachi had with Naruto beforehand.

Naturally, as an Uchiha he didn't like—no…. Scratch that. He _HATED_ owing anything to anybody. Especially to this usuratonkachi whom he definitely didn't want anything to do with _e__ver again_.

_I don't want to owe you anything._

Making up his mind, he turned to his subordinates.

"Stay here. I'll be back."

Sasuke bent down and scooped Naruto up, then, using a jutsu, dematerialized well out of hearing range of the other shinobi. Deeming the place safe for the thing he was about to do, he put Naruto down on the ground.

Feeling someone shaking his body, Naruto began to stir. He tried to open his eyes, hoping to find out what had happened to him, and barely succeeded. But that as much as he could do. He just didn't have enough energy to move anything else.

All he could see was black.

_Black hair? Fur? Oh no! Is it gorilla? A bear? Noooooooooo…Don't eat me! I don't want to die like this, being eaten by a frickin' bear!_

Naruto started to panic. He actually was not sure whether bears really ate people or not, but he sure as hell didn't want to be the one to confirm it.

_A bear with a pale skin no less! Just like that Sasuke-teme…_

_Ehhh!? Wait, it is Sasuke!_

"Saa...kee?"

"Shut up, usuratonkachi."

_It is Sasuke! Eh, watcha doing? Hey, that's _my_ shirt you're taking off, you jerk! Hey, hey, stop it! Give it back!_

_Get off me!_

Naruto tried to shove Sasuke off of him, but his body refused to even budge.

_Wha…what? Move, hand, move. We are in a dire situation here! We are in danger of violation!_

Naruto tried reasoning with his hands, but they still refused to respond to him.

"wha… yuu…doinnn?"

"If you weren't such a dobe, you'd know what I'm doing."

"Not…do…be."

"Shut up. You are wasting your chakra. Or do you want to die from talking too much, eh, stupid?"

_Chakra? Shit! Now I remember. Those bastards sucked out my chakra. Even the stupid fox's was drained. No wonder I can't mo..._

_Hey, hey! Where are you touching, bastard? My pants! Those're my _pants_! Give them back!_

_Hey, stop it, teme! This is _not_ funny. Hey, I said stop!_

_Holyshit! Is he going crazy now? He's lost it, hasn't he? Ohshitohshitohshit!_

_M- my boxers!!_

…_I'm naked now, aren't I? Shit, Sasuke. Don't go crazy on me. Pick somebody else!_

… _Holy _crap_! Why are you taking your clothes off, too?_

_Stop it. You're creeping me out. Seriously!_

_Come on, body! Come on, come on… Move! We need to shove him off._

A finger twitched.

_Like that's gonna help!_

_Hands off, Sasuke! Don't touch me there. Bad Sasuke. Bad. Shuuh, shuuh._

_Ouchhhhhh…Hey, take out your finger! Shitshitshit. That _hurts_, bastard. Ow, ow, ow._

_Wha…two? Huh… ha… huh… Argh! Shit… You…crazy bastard…Urghhhh. That freaking hurts!_

"Hold on, Naruto. It will be over soon. Urghhh….Don't clench down on me so hard, stupid."

_Stupid? Stupid?! Try shoving something this big in your ass, you asshole! _

_Argh…Ow…Owww._

"Na-Naruto. Don't, you idiot. Try to relax. I'm going to move now."

_What, move? No, no, nononononono…Don't move. Move. Bad. Don't move. Argh…I said don't move, you bastard. God, stop!! Sto…Ahhh!!_

_Huh? What was that? Sasuke? Ah!! There! Do that again!_

"Are you okay? It won't take long now."

Naruto body twitched. He never felt like this before. The incredible feeling when Sasuke did whatever he did just now make something inside of him threatening to explode. He could also feel warm chakra—Sasuke's chakra?—flowing into his system. It made what Sasuke was doing to him feel even more incredibly arousing.

It didn't take long for this sinfully arousing combination of sensations to make Naruto climax. Lost in his pleasure-clouded mind, Naruto barely registered that Sasuke soon followed, feeling a warm liquid pooling inside his body.

Naruto stared with hazy eyes at Sasuke, trying to form a what-the-hell-do-you-think-you-are-doing-and-prepare-to-die speech but promptly felt asleep when Sasuke tapped his finger at his forehead.

Apparently it was a sleeping jutsu.

"Go to sleep, usuratonkachi. Don't try to find me again."

9


	2. Please Tell Me This is A Sick, Sick Lie

Edited by Obscure Omen.

Disclaimer: Naruto is © to Kishimoto, a Japanese mangaka.

A SasuNaru story. A slow kind.

**Chapter 2: Please tell me this is a sick, sick lie.**

Consciousness finally decided to revisit the body lying on the bed. If somebody looked closely, they would be able to see the fingers were starting to twitch and the breathing becoming faster. However, for some reason, the owner of the body—a yellow-haired boy with whisker marks on both cheeks—seemed reluctant to open his eyes.

Okay, that was a lie. Actually, he was afraid to open his eyes. The memories from the time he opened them to find Sasuke hovering over him still brought an unsettling feeling in him. He definitely, definitely didn't want anything similar to happen ever again. Especially right now, when he felt stiff all over from sleeping for too long—just moving his fingers took too much effort, which left him totally vulnerable to an attack.

Just remembering about the incident with Sasuke made him feel betrayed, angry, embarrassed, and many more undefined feeling clouding in his head but generally, he felt confused on why that—that kind of thing happened to him at the first place.

Was it because Sasuke had really gone mad and could not tell a girl from a boy anymore? Because Naruto definitely did not look like a girl.

Nuh-uh.

Or—or was it because for all these years, Sasuke had been deprived from sexual activities, so he became sexually frustrated and—and suddenly in the middle of the battle he felt excited and proceed to—to, er... do _that_ to anything that had legs in his close proximity, who conveniently happened to be Naruto at that particular time?

…

Nahhhh, that sounded a little bit far-fetched. Even the rumor about the octopus tree was more plausible than that. (1)

Why, do you ask?

It was simply because Sasuke was asexual. He would never get sexually frustrated to begin with.

Okay, fine, Naruto admitted he didn't know for sure if Sasuke was really asexual or not, but think about this:

If a lot of girls threw themselves at a boy and confessed their undying love to said boy, ("boy" here meaning a healthy, teenaged boy), it's bound to yield some reaction, right? Like a nose-bleed or something, right?

Wrong. At least, in Sasuke case it was. He was as unaffected as ever. That, Naruto could surely say, was just not normal.

Also, Naruto was pretty confident that Sasuke didn't swing the other way (God forbid!) either. This was mainly because he never saw Sasuke with other males except for himself, Kakashi-sensei, and maybe occasionally Iruka-sensei, if he felt less emo than usual. Sure, he had some kind of interaction with a few others, but that was only for something like sparring or giving them death glares. Nothing more.

So, no. Naruto did not think Sasuke was, er… homosexual. All in all, it was safe to say that Sasuke was asexual.

Which led to his first assumption: Sasuke really had gone nuts.

_Poor Sasuke_, Naruto empathized. He somehow had foreseen that the day Sasuke went nuts would come. Those death glares, evil smirks, and the non-stop brooding were the dead giveaways; it just a matter of time until he would really lose it.

But still, why Naruto? There were some other people at the battle scene at that moment. Naruto knew that Sasuke's team was nearby. Heck, he heard them talking to each other even in his semi-conscious state. Sasuke could have just picked them instead of him.

"_If you weren't such a dobe, you'd understand what I'm doing."_

Naruto remembered Sasuke said something like that.

_Is it because I'm a dobe?_

… The hell? That didn't make any sense. _At all_.

Being a dobe equals getting harassed? No freaking way. Was this his sick way of pulling a joke? If that was the case, Sasuke better be ready to attend his own funeral, because Naruto was sure as hell not going to just let him get out of this alive.

Or was it because he was trying to imply something from that? Something that Naruto should know about… Something taught in class, perhaps? When he said 'doing' he must have meant, er—how had Iruka-sensei put it? Ahhh… intercourse—the intercourse. Then should he ask Iruka-sensei about it? He vaguely remembered his sensei explaining to him about intercourse—or, in another easy term, like "the birds and the bees," which, by the way, always involved good boys and good girls and love. Honestly, he really didn't understand most of what Iruka-sensei was trying to say, but at least he knew enough that it was between a boy and girl.

But—but what had happened between him and Sasuke was far from that birds and the bees story. Maybe there's actually a—a freaking bird and a bird story! Should he ask Iruka-sensei about that, then? Maybe sensei made a mistake when he taught that to the class and there was a bird and bird story after all.

Still, what was he going to say if Iruka-sensei asked him about the details? Tell him the truth? No way in hell. It would be too embarrassing, just like—like running around the village naked in broad daylight for everyone to see. He'd rather be stabbed through the chest with a blunt sword—wait, he had been through that!—than tell the exact, entire truth to Iruka-sensei.

Nuh-uh. Never going to happen.

So, yeah, that brought him back to square one, which meant he still had no freaking idea why. Furthermore, his head was beginning to hurt with all this thinking and analyzing. This was obviously not his element. He was a ninja, damnit! Not a scientist, or professor, or some kind of brainy dude. Ninjas don't think; they fight.

Well, not really. They did think, but not about deep shit like this. Ninjas were supposed to think about strategies, weapons, form of attack, etc—which was exactly why he should stop thinking now and forgot all about it.

Yeah, just forget about this, right?

If he didn't tell, nobody was gonna know anyway, right?

Like, it never happened, right?

He should just seal his lips. Tight.

No one would know, nothing was going to happen, end of story.

Satisfied with that, Naruto heaved a sigh of relief. Now, Naruto could relax. Problem solved. After making up his mind, reluctantly, he tried opening his eyes. It stung a little, just like when you swim in the ocean and the salty water gets into your eyes. Naruto blinked his eyes to wipe away the stinginess and finally opened them.

All he could see was pitch black.

Oh no! Not again!

_Sasuke?_

His breath hitched.

_God, no! Not him again._

_Okay, okay. Don't panic._

Naruto blinked his eyes some more, trying to adjust his eyes to the darkness. With the help of the moonlight that managed to shine through the slits of the open curtain, he barely made the outline of the room he rested in.

Ticking off the list in his head, he began to relax again.

_No hair or fur? Check!_

_No pale skin? Check!_

_No ugly purple bow? Check!_

_Alright, not Sasuke._

Naruto heaved a sigh of relief for the second time. He was safe. After the panic subsided, he was sure of that now—the antiseptic smell confirmed it. He was in a hospital. But which hospital, he couldn't guess. Well, he didn't care about that right now. All that mattered now was that he was safe and comfy and sleepy, and, all in all, he just wanted to shut his eyes. He couldn't see anything properly anyway, since it was still dark. Also, he knew better than to move hastily after waking up from a long sleep; his stiff limbs would hurt like hell. Thus, giving into the sweet calling of la-la land, he went back to sleep again.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning, Naruto woke up with sunshine shining directly onto his face, which forced him to squint his eyes. While cursing profusely at the person who drew the curtain, he turned to lie on his side, trying in vain to avoid the blinding sun and continue to sleep some more. He was totally oblivious to a presence next to him.

Until…

_**Pack**_

"Ouch! Hey what the he…Tsunade baa-chan! What was that for?! What are you doing here, anyway?"

"Good morning to you too, brat. I work here, remember?"

"Heh heh… I forgot. Guess you are still a doctor, huh? What happened to the Hokage's duties? You're trying to skip work again, aren'tcha?"

"Whatever, brat. How are you this morning? You have been unconscious for almost three days. Any discomfort? Dizziness?"

"Three days? I'm fine, I guess. Nothing to worry about. Just feeling a bit stiff is all. I'm the great Uzumaki Naruto, tebbayo! I can take anything. Sooooo, did ja bring me any ramen? I'm starving, you know."

Naruto grinned while trying to imitate a starving person, an act which Tsunade totally wouldn't have bought if not for his stomach grumbling right that moment.

Tsunade smiled—only Naruto could pull off something silly like that. She had actually been really worried about that boy. But seeing Naruto like this, he obviously had returned back to his normal self. Moreover, when she checked his vital signs and looked for any injuries that might have been inflicted on the blond boy, she found none. But what had puzzled her was that even though Naruto didn't have a severe injury, he still wouldn't wake up from his sleep. Expecting something terrible might have happened to Naruto that even she, the legendary healer herself couldn't detect, she couldn't help but be worried. After all, Naruto was like a brother to her—albeit his status as a rude, obnoxious, loud, and head-ache inducing individual. She loved him all the same.

Deeming Naruto was healthy enough, she announced,

"You can get your own ramen when you are discharged. You are discharged by the way."

"Yatta! Ramen! Ramen!"

"Wait, not so fast."

Naruto gulped.

_Does she suspect something?_

"Your chakra felt a little different than usual. Like… like it's mixed with someone else's chakra. Do you want to tell me something about that?"

"Well," Naruto looked out the window, pretending to watch the activities outside to avoid Tsunade's gaze. She might know he hid something if he looked at her while explaining things. Tsunade was perceptive like that.

"I don't know. I was knocked out, you know. By the way, how did I get back here?" Naruto asked, trying to change the subject when something clicked in his mind and he suddenly sat up straight.

_My teammates!_

"How about the others? Where are they now? Are they alright?"

"Relax, Naruto. They are fine but still unconscious. You can visit them later. Now, I need you to tell me what happened. Every single detail."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

By the afternoon, Naruto could be spotted eating bowls of ramen at Ichiraku's stand. However, a deep frown marred his tan face, which, under normal circumstances, was uncommon for the boy. He was eating ramen, after all, which, by Naruto's definition, was his elixir of life, cure of a thousand illnesses, and an ecstasy pill. This might sound exaggerated, but sadly those were true to him. So whoever paid attention would know something bad must have happened.

This was all because he was still in shock by the news delivered by Tsunade just now.

_Itachi is dead._

Okay, he didn't know that and definitely didn't see that coming. The last thing he remembered about Itachi was that he tried to pin him down by throwing his body on him. He also recalled Itachi ordering Kisame to stab him with the sword. After that, all he could remember was a series of blurred memories. Nevertheless, at one point in his semi-consciousness, he swore he saw Sasuke advance to his brother's side to attack Itachi. Did that mean Sasuke was the one who killed him?

Tsunade asked him the exact same question just now, too. Naruto honestly didn't know how to answer that. Not that he didn't believe Sasuke could kill Itachi by himself; it was just that if Sasuke really had killed Itachi, then why had he abandoned them? Why didn't he help them back to Konoha, knowing fully well that if the rescue team arrived late, they might all be dead? Did he really want to severe ties with Konoha that badly? Didn't he plan to come back after killing Itachi?

_Could we become a team again? Just like before?_

Naruto became more depressed partly because he knew what that implied. Sasuke was not just a missing nin; he could be classified as S-class missing nin now, which meant one thing: if he didn't come back peacefully, the Hokage could declare a capture-and-kill order. Naruto definitely didn't want that. He wanted to bring Sasuke back alive. If not for his promise to Sakura-chan, then for his peace of mind. He just wanted his best friend back. It was as simple as that. Even though he was still angry at what Sasuke had done to him, it really didn't justify the hunter-nins to kill Sasuke, body mutated and unrecognizable beyond recognition, forever remembered as a traitor.

Naruto let out a tired sigh. It wouldn't do him any good moping around like this. He needed to do something to cool off his head, and what was a better thing to do than training to his heart's content? Already, he had somebody in mind as his spar partner. But first, he needed to go to Iruka-sensei's house and greet him. Only God knew how worried Iruka-sensei might be, and, if he was lucky, he might have ramen for dinner as well, courtesy of dear Iruka-sensei.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next day, after visiting Sakura, Kakashi-sensei, and Sai at the hospital, Naruto headed toward a certain training ground where he was sure he could find his intended sparring partner. Sure enough, when he approached the training ground he could hear loud proclamations—loud proclamations filled with youthful spirit.

Take three guesses to who that was, and the first two don't count.

"Oi, Lee!" Lee turned to see Naruto jogging lightly to meet him. Upon arrival, Naruto continued, "Want to spar?"

Which was just a rhetorical question, really. Apart from Naruto, the only other person who couldn't refuse such an invitation was Lee.

"Of course, my youthful friend! It would be such a shame to refuse such a FRIENDLY and WONDERFUL offer!" was the anticipated reply.

In a heartbeat, they were already in a fighting stance, facing each other. Naruto felt a bubble of excitement build up in him. Sparring with Lee meant that both parties would only use taijutsu. Meaning hand-to-hand combat. Meaning real, physical combat. Meaning he got to hit something at last. His frustration that had been building since he woke up yesterday needed a release, and this was exactly what he needed to relieve it. With a combat cry, they both lunged at each other.

Unfortunately for Naruto, the spar didn't last long. Once Lee tried to hit Naruto's stomach, a red, angry chakra engulfed the blond boy, which subsequently put a pressure on the incoming Lee that sent him flying away a few meters away from Naruto. Thinking that was a normal move on Naruto's part, Lee recovered himself and started to attack again, only to be thrown away once again. However, this time his back met a tree trunk and rendered him immobile for a while because of the intense pain.

Worried for Lee's condition, Naruto ran towards Lee, hoping upon hope that Lee was not critically injured—the chakra burst that sent him flying just now was quite strong. He himself was confused about why that had happened. As far as he knew, he didn't even try to tap his own chakra reserves, let alone the Kyuubi's. Something pricked dangerously in Naruto's mind.

_What is the Kyuubi up to now?_

After reassuring Naruto that he was safe ("I am full of youth; this small thing can't beat me! Don't worry, Naruto-kun"), Lee asked to proceed with their sparring, but Naruto declined. Sensing that something was not right, he excused himself ("Sorry, I forgot to feed my cat") and ran towards his usual training ground. Looking around to make sure that he was alone, Naruto began to train by himself. After the incident with Lee just now, he came to the conclusion that avoiding people would be the best course of action for now, mostly because he didn't even understand the situation himself. Another reason was because he just didn't want to think about what had just happened. Because he knew, even if he thought about it, he would never get the answer anyway. That fox demon wouldn't tell him anything, either.

_Stupid fox._

And train by himself he did until he was so exhausted that he fell asleep on the training ground. Not long after that, he felt his body getting wet and jolted awake just to find that he was facing the fox demon. Naruto immediately sprang to his feet and stepped back a few paces from the gate constraining the demon.

"What do you want, stupid fox?"

His voice sounded hollow even to his own ears. The fox demon only grinned at him, showing his sharp, big teeth. Naruto felt a shudder run through his body.

"Don't be rude, brat. Or I won't tell you anything."

"What do you mean? Wait, is this about the chakra burst just now? What are you up to, you ancient, stupid fox? Don't you dare try anything stupid!"

The Kyuubi bristled. This guy had to have guts to talk to him like that. If only he could reach his paws to that small neck and snap it in two. That would show that brat his place.

"That was to protect the cub."

"Huh? Excuse me?"

"That was to pro…"

"I heard what you just said. What do you mean by that? Are saying you're pregnant, stupid fox?"

"….." That was the demon fox.

"……" Naruto retaliated.

"Dumb, aren't you? You are right about the pregnancy, but wrong about it being me."

"Hey, are you trying to tell me the impossible? Don't make a joke; it's not even funny! That's just humanly impossible!"

Naruto could feel panic rising in him.

_No, no. This is not happening… Somehow, I know that giant fox doesn't lie. He wouldn't waste his breath sprouting lies like this. That's just not it. Which means it's telling the truth._

"Listen to yourself, human. It is humanly impossible, but I'm a Demon Lord. Don't underestimate my power. I might not control what happens outside this body, but inside I can still exercise my power."

The Demon Lord paused, waiting for his container's reaction. After a few minutes of seeing Naruto just standing there dumbfounded, he continued,

"It was a natural instinct. A survival instinct."

"Huh?" came the ever-clever reply from Naruto.

"We almost died at that time. _**I **_almost died. It's a natural instinct to preserve your lineage before you die. I can't just ignore such a strong instinct."

Speechless, Naruto just continued standing there. His mind was in turmoil. He didn't want to accept this. No man in their right mind could accept this.

"No!" he suddenly screamed, "I can't accept this! This is absurd!"

"Look, you insolent brat. If you don't want it, just kill it. It doesn't concern me. Now, be one."

Naruto was startled awake, sweat drenching his clothes and his breaths coming fast. Looking around himself, he noticed that he was back at the spot where he felt asleep before the meeting with Kyuubi, only now it was getting darker. Night at the training ground could be chilling, but that did nothing to soothe the boy. His mind was still preoccupied with the Kyuubi's parting statement:

"_If you don't want it, just kill it."_

Feeling like the whole world's burdens had crashed onto his shoulders, Naruto buried his head in his hands. After some brooding in silence, he tilted his head to the sky and softly whispered_, _"Someone please tell me this is just a sick, sick joke."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hi everyone. Thanks for reading. I just want to stress, this is a really slow SasuNaru. Yeah, cause you see, Sasuke and Naruto do not like each other. Really, they don't. Seriously. There will be a long way before love will come into the equation.

1- There is this almost believable article in the internet about a tree that grow octopus.

10


	3. I'll Get Rid of It for Sure

Edited by Obscure Omen.

Disclaimer: Naruto is © to Kishimoto, a Japanese mangaka.

A SasuNaru story. A slow kind.

**Chapter 3: I'll get rid of it for sure**

Since the day of Kyuubi's shocking explanation, Naruto had been visiting the hospital almost religiously. No, not because he was sick. Alright, maybe he had some headaches and mild morning sickness, but that hardly brought him to the hospital. In fact, apart from that, he was completely fine.

Once he was there, all he did was sit silently on an available chair near his teammates' bedsides and stay that way until he was forced to leave. For him, Konoha Hospital was some sort of refuge right now.

Everyday Naruto would plan his day carefully so that he wouldn't meet someone that he knew or someone who knew him. In the very early morning, he would train by himself at a secluded training ground—people rarely went there for some unknown reason—and stopped training at the first sign of morning's rays. Afterward, taking a route not traveled by most people, he would head home to clean and change.

After a quick breakfast—a couple of instant ramen cups, of course—he would make his way to the hospital by jumping from roof to roof. He desperately avoided the street, as people had begun crowding the streets at that time, which meant that the chances of him bumping into one of his friends were higher, and he just wasn't ready for that yet. Even if some of his friends came to visit his teammates, he would stay out of the way and only returned to his original position when they were gone.

Yes, you guessed it right—this was no coincidence. Naruto was actually trying to avoid his friends.

Why? Because he was afraid. He rarely was afraid of anything, except maybe for ghosts—hey, they were real, after all! But this, this thing about being pregnant scared the hell out of him. It was abnormal, and he was abnormal enough to begin with—the freaking Kyuubi resided inside of him!—and he didn't want to be that different from everybody. If they ever found out about his condition, there was a good chance that they wouldn't accept it. People might start avoiding him again, and he might be all alone again, without friends—just like his childhood had been.

Because, more than any ghosts that ever existed, loneliness was far scarier. He didn't want to be alone again; he didn't want his friends to leave him.

Naruto knew he was acting like a coward now, and, honestly, he never felt like more of a coward than now—not even when Team 7 had their unexpected A-rank mission during his genin time when they had to fight Zabuza and his assistant, Haku.

Obviously, this was definitely not his way of ninja. But he was genuinely frightened. What if somehow he accidentally told them something inappropriate? What would their reaction be? Would they judge him? Even worse, would they want to associate with him anymore? If his friends couldn't accept him, then the villagers would simply hate him. He wouldn't stand a chance before the villagers. Then, his dreams—to be a Hokage, to make the villagers acknowledge him—would be in jeopardy.

Could he live with that?

The answer was a resounding _NO._

No, he couldn't live with that.

No, he couldn't take the risk. Not if his whole life was on the line.

Therefore, he concluded, this time—and this time only—it was okay to be a coward. It was _just_ for a short period of time, anyway. Just—just until he made his final decision about this problem. He would face them, eventually. All he needed was some space to think rationally and wisely—this was a life-changing decision he was supposed to make here!

He had _no _choice but to avoid all of his friends, except for his teammates. Yes, his teammates—but that was purely because they were unconscious, meaning that they couldn't talk and judge him while they were like that. Furthermore, their presence brought a strange calmness to his turmoil-ridden heart, which was what made him want to visit them at the first place.

Nevertheless, true to its name, a life-changing decision was really hard to make. Naruto, even with all of the thinking and avoiding he did, he still couldn't come up with anything concrete, which only made him more restless, tired, and angry each day. Without realizing it, his training became harsher and bloodier every time, leaving him more and more exhausted, physically and mentally.

If Naruto was a cheerful and sunny boy before, he was a bitter, bitter man now. He would snap at anyone and anything that dared to defy his way. Feeling angry was not a foreign concept for him anymore, although he didn't really understand what made him feel angry so easily. It was beyond him to suspect that it was all because of the hormones from his pregnancy.

Poor Naruto, he didn't even know what had hit him so bad.

The only thing he knew for sure was that ramen could make him felt a little bit better every single time. So, after his nightly training—which always ended near midnight—he would go to Ichiraku and enjoy his bowls of ramen, without fail. The nearly closed shop was usually deserted, and that was just perfect for Naruto and his peace of mind.

Ergo, imagine how shocked he was when on his nth visit to his favourite stand, Kiba suddenly appeared and thumped his back in a way of greeting. He could feel the unknown anger started to rise again.

"Hiya, buddy! How ya doin'?"

Naruto glared at him and muttered a weak "fine" back.

"Where have you been? Haven't seen ya lately." Kiba plopped himself beside Naruto at the counter.

"Around," came the short reply from the blond.

Kiba raised a brow, confused about Naruto's cold behaviour, but he decided to brush it off as Naruto being exhausted. He himself was exhausted from his duty and all the running he had done around the city.

"Around, huh? I've been busy, too, you know. What with the chuunin exam and all that shit. Man, I swear people kept popping out of nowhere! There are so many of them. No way will we have enough hands to handle all of these people. Just today, I saw…"

Naruto threw an uninterested glance at Kiba.

'_So, it's already time for the chunnin exam, eh?' _

Naruto mused while half-heartedly listening to the rambling boy.

"… and I got to go on a date with Hinata-chan. Heh heh hehh… I knew it. She just can't resist my hotness." Kiba kept on rambling, oblivious to Naruto increasingly bad mood.

_What is this mutt talking about? Why does he look so stupidly happy? Does he have to talk so much? He's really grating off my nerves. Just shut the fuck up already._

"And—and tomorrow, we still have a date to go on. I bet Hinata-chan will look nice in that…" Kiba went on.

_Oh my God, stop talking. Leave me the fuck alone. Shut up!_

"SHUT UP!!" A shout.

Kiba abruptly stopped talking, surprised by the outburst.

"Huh?"

"I said, shut up, you stupid mutt! You are annoying. Buzz off!"

Even more shocked with what Naruto just said, Kiba blinked stupidly and then snorted. Naruto's face, red with anger, and his disheveled hair looked funny to Kiba, which made him burst out laughing.

"Ha ha ha… Dude. Are—ha ha—you PMSing or something? Pfft…Hahaha…You look so funny!"

Naruto stood up so fast that his stool fell over.

"Are you calling me a girl?!" Naruto said dangerously.

Still recovering from his hysterical laughing, Kiba was oblivious to Naruto's dangerous and murderous aura, which was aimed at him.

"Huh? I never said that, but you could've fooled me, man… Er, lady." And he started to laugh again to his own joke when a hard blow landed square on his face, which made him fall off his stool.

"Shit, Naruto! That's hurt, you jerk-wad! What's wrong with you?! Why are you going all emo on me? I thought only Sasuke did that!"

'_Oopsss, taboo subject,' _thought Kiba, but it was too late to take back what he just said when he saw Naruto advancing towards him dangerously. He was forced to squat back to put some kind of safe distance between them.

"What's wrong? You asked me what's wrong?! There's nothing wrong, okay? I am full of not-wrongness!! Why do you think something is wrong with me?! Huh? Huh? You are what's wrong, you stupid mutt!Your stupid grin, your hideous face, and—and you smell. It's annoying; it makes people want to puke. And don't you ever, ever, ever associate me with that shit-faced Sasuke. Do you understand that?"

Kiba nodded readily, afraid of Naruto's expression, which emanated pure menace.

"One more thing. If I ever catch you calling me a woman again, I'll personally see that you will lose the body part that make you a man so you end up more like a girl. Understood?"

Once again, Kiba nodded and dumbly watched Naruto retreat—obviously satisfied with Kiba's nods—leaving him stunned speechless on the ground.

"Are you okay, young man?" Ichiraku's owner's question startled him, and he immediately pushed himself up to a standing position.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Kiba touched his cheek, which he knew had started to turn purple.

"What's wrong with Naruto-kun?"

Kiba looked at the owner and shrugged.

_Hell, if I know. Maybe he really is PMSing…Who can really tell Shit, and I still have that date with Hinata-chan tomorrow._

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_Shit, shit, shit!! Fuck Kiba! Fuck that jerk Sasuke! Fuck them! Fuck it all! Shit!_

If one couldn't guess, Naruto was not mad. No, he really wasn't. He just freaking furious! If killing for personal self-satisfaction were legal, Kiba would be dead by now. Unfortunately, killing for fun wasn't legal, and as far as Naruto knew, only criminals did that. He was no criminal—or A WOMAN, either!

_Damn that Kiba. How dare he call me that?! I hope he trips on his way home, hits his head, and dies. Die, you damned Kiba. I'm not a woman and never will be—then, now, and forever. That is a fact of life. Yeah, yeah, that's right. I'm a man. I'm not supposed to be pregnant no matter what crap the damned Kyuubi said. This is obvious. I don't have to think about it. Why couldn't I see this before?_

Naruto started to laugh creepily. If there happened to be someone around him right now, they would know that the wisest thing to do was run for their life. Alas, the said boy was still lost in his delirious thoughts.

_I can't carry a child. I just can't. That would fuck up everything. I—I should get rid of it or something. Yeah, that's right. Right?_

Naruto felt a bit of doubt rise in his mind, but, as quickly as it came, he squashed it.

_No. I mean, yes. That's right. I'm a man, I can't carry a child, this is obvious, I don't have to consider this. I should never have considered this. _

_So what now?_

Naruto stopped in his tracks for a second, realizing that he already reached his apartment, and, in fact, was on the way to his room. When he reached his room, he stood at the door silently, almost hoping that the silent room could give him his answer.

_What to do now?_

He asked himself again when he got no answer from the silent room.

_I guess I have to kill it, then._

With dread, he plopped himself on the bed, closing his eyes.

_Tomorrow. I'll do that tomorrow. For now, just let me sleep. God, just let me sleep._

Luckily, Naruto felt asleep almost instantly. Maybe he was more exhausted than he thought—emotional outbursts tended to do that to people. However, in his sleep, unaware even by himself, he kept apologizing to someone, over and over again.

_I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Please forgive me. I don't have a choice._

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A/N:

Hi. Sorry this chapter came out late and is a little short, too. Next chapter will be longer, I promise.

Okay I left the chapter with a cliff-hanger. Kui kui kui (if you was wondering, that is my evil laugh).

Until next time, ja.

Next chapter:

**Chapter 4: I need to know, I need to learn – Pregnancy 101!**

Sigh, so much for a cliff-hanger.


	4. I Want2Know,I Want2LearnPregnancy101

Edited by Obscure Omen (Thank you, thank you!!)

Disclaimer: Naruto is © to Kishimoto, a Japanese mangaka.

A SasuNaru story. A slow kind.

There are some warnings in this chapter: spoilers and spoilers!

**Chapter 4: I Want to Know, I Want to Learn – Pregnancy 101!**

Morning in Konoha was truly a sight to behold. As a village that was situated in a tropical country like Fire country, the weather was always warm and wet throughout the year. It was sunny year-round, which really helped the flowers and plants grow beautifully.

The flowers and plants were always at their best in the morning when they began to bloom as if they were starting to wake up—just like human beings. Even morning dew did nothing to hinder their beauty; in truth, it only helped them look more gorgeous by making them sparkle. If only Konoha was not a hidden village—then she surely could attract more visitors and probably bring in a major income for the village, too.

However, the boy in the bed of one small apartment in this particular village failed to appreciate the beauty today's morning. It wasn't because he didn't appreciate it at all. In fact, he usually felt quite thankful for being able to wake up to a new day and enjoy the lovely scenery—it was a great achievement for fellow shinobi to do that, seeing that their line of work could easily get them killed. Furthermore, he was a nature-lover at heart, which was proved by the many pots of flowers lining his windowsill.

The boy—namely called Naruto—loved to grow plants, nourishing them, watching them grow and bloom. For him—apart from ramen—plants, trees, flowers, forests, wild fruits, and everything with leaves, sticks, twigs, and spores made him happy. Partly because those things were not just "things"—they were his friends: he talked to them, confessed to them, and sometimes even cried to them, too. He grew up alone, and the plants were the only things that had always been there for him.

Another reason might be because the Kyuubi. Everybody knew that the Demon Fox was a wild animal of nature and his habitat used to be the forest before it was caught by human and manipulated. So it was natural for it to want to be near the forest. Indeed, when Naruto was small—before he went to Konoha Academy—and Kyuubi had had a little control over Naruto's young mind, he always wandered, under the Kyuubi's influence, around the forest surrounding the Konoha village.

At that time, Naruto was probably more familiar with the forest than anybody else—he knew what could be eaten and what was dangerous and learned how to survived by instinct. Luckily for the boy, that was one of the few things that let him survive his childhood without somebody watching over his well-being.

Yet, today those feeling were totally lost on Naruto. Although he was lying on his bed, seemingly asleep, in actuality, he had already been awake for awhile now—he normally woke up at this time of day to train anyway. He just didn't want to wake up. Period.

Because today, for obvious reasons, he was not feeling very grateful to be awake.

Today, he just wanted to play dead and bury himself in his blankets. If it was possible, he never wanted to wake up again.

For today was a dreadful day during which he had to do a dreadful thing that made him dreadfully low in spirit.

And stay in bed he did, because two hours later, he was still in bed, moping. The only difference now was that the day was getting brighter, and he felt a tad bit nauseous. He had been like this for a few days now and was already familiar with the pattern. Almost every morning after his breakfast, he would feel queasy and end up throwing up his breakfast. For Naruto, that was just a waste of his precious ramen and thought nothing more of it. It never crossed his mind that it might have something to do with his pregnancy.

Well, it was not his fault for being so clueless. For a shinobi like him who had just been discharged from the hospital, being nauseous for a day or two was a common condition. The chakra transfers, medicines used, and loss of blood during treatments could do that to people. That was why Naruto really didn't have any concern for the matter. And nobody could blame him for not realizing that the nausea attack had been going on longer than normal, either. He had too much on his mind these last few days to notice this abnormality. Then again, he didn't even realize the other, more obvious abnormalities: He ate a lot more, became tired easily, and had those anger attacks.

Understandably, he might not realize he ate a lot than usual just because he ate a lot normally. Though he did notice that he was easily tired, he was not complaining about it and easily put the blame on his distressed state. On the other hand, he was kinda grateful for being tired. Tiredness was a welcome state for getting a good night's sleep, which was what he needed to stop thinking for a while. However, he was somewhat aware of his anger outbursts that seemed to happen for no reason whatsoever, especially the incident with Kiba at Ichiraku's. Still, that mutt-face deserved it. Oh yes, he deserved it, and somehow that made the eruptions of anger worthwhile.

Another bout of nausea hit him. He knew he needed to get out of bed, run like hell to the toilet in ten seconds flat or risk throwing up in his bed, which was not a real option.

10, 9, 8, 7, 6...

_Uwekkk_. That was the disgusting sound of Naruto throwing up in the sink. He looked at the contents of the sink—a clear, liquid substance—and turned on the tap to let the water wash it all away. Scooping some water into his hands, he splashed it on his face. The cold water managed to make him feel more awake.

_Che, so much for staying in bed forever. I hadn't even had my breakfast this time. _

Naruto unknowingly cracked a little smile. He was a bit glad that he had to dash to the toilet, because only God knew how long he was going to mope around if he wasn't forced out of bed. Now that he finally awake, Naruto felt that finishing his daily routine was the right thing to do: shower, breakfast, watering plants, and some light exercises.

After finished grooming himself, Naruto didn't know what else to do. Yes, he knew he had to do what he promised he would do last night, but goddamnit, he didn't know where to start. Honestly, nobody expected a young boy like Naruto to know anything about abortion.

_Do I have to stab my stomach with kunai?_

_Or—or do I have to drink poison?_

And the most important question was:

_Is it gonna hurt?_

Naruto sighed. Making the hard decision was bad enough. Now that he had the solution, he had no idea what to do about it.

_Maybe I should start with the drug store._

Which sounded like a brilliant plan—surprising, since Naruto rarely came up with brilliant plans like that. This showed exactly how distressed and desperate he was; only desperate people could produce extraordinary ideas (sometimes), or, in Naruto's case, a brilliant plan.

Making up his mind with that, he began to make his way to the nearest drug store, albeit very slowly. If he absolutely had to do this thing which he truly detested, he might as well take his own sweet time. No need to rush for evil things.

Naruto sighed again and suddenly laughed. Laughed? That did not sound right.

_Eh, what is tickling me?_

He laughed again, this time quite loudly, making passerby look at him strangely.

"What—hahaha—the hell? Hahahahha…" Naruto tried to be angry despite his laughing and searched fervently under his shirt for the source of the tickling.

_Ah ha. Found it!_

It was one of Tsunade's slugs! Or maybe it was someone else's; he couldn't really tell. The thing might just be a random caterpillar or—or a worm. Eww. Heck, he didn't know. Who could tell the difference anyway? He sure couldn't!

With a manly cry of "Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!", he threw the slug lookalike to the ground, feeling slightly disgusted at the idea of it really being a worm. Crouching down to the thing, he took a closer look. To his relief, it was a slug, and, judging by the colour and the way that thing seemed to glare at him, he knew it must be one of Tsunade's.

He picked the slug back up and put it on his palm, considering for a minute whether he should talk to this slug in the middle of a busy street.

_To hell with everything! Baa-chan must have something important if she had to use this thing to get me._

"So, what are you doing in my shirt, huh? Don't tell me it was something perverted!"

"Stupid. Boy." The slug slurred through each word with a high-pitched voice.

"Hey, you really can talk!"

Ignoring Naruto's stupid exclamation, the slug continued, "Hokage. Meet. Now."

"Really? _Now_? Oh, man! Sorry, but I have somewhere to go now." Naruto started to move to his original destination when he heard a loud, high-pitched voice from his palm.

"Hokage. Meet. Now!"

"Look, I'll go there after I'm finished with my thing, okay?"

"Hokage. Meet. Now!!" The slug was screeching now.

"Okay, okay, I'll go. Stop screeching; my ears hurt."

They both "poofed" to the Hokage tower.

909090909090909090909090909090909090909090909090909090909090909090909090

Upon reaching the Hokage tower, Naruto was shocked to see Kakashi-sensei and Sakura already there. He almost didn't notice Tsunade sitting behind her desk, working on some paperwork and progressed to greet both of his teammates loudly.

"Sakura-chan!! Kakashi-sensei!! What are you guys doing here? Are you okay already? When were you discharged? Why didn't I know about this? Eh, where is Sai?" Naruto questioned, all the while trying to hug Sakura only to be pushed away by her violently. Disappointed, he turned to Kakashi-sensei to do that in return and received a fatherly hug from the man.

"Sai has something to do right now. And if you try that again, I'll crack your skull. Got it?" Sakura answered at the same time, threatening him if ever dared to try that kind of act again.

"Hahaha… Sorry, Sakura-chan. I was, er… excited. You might not believe me, but I missed you guys." Naruto grinned stupidly, but everybody could see that he was genuine about it. What he didn't know was that the others probably felt the same. They were just thankful that they got out from the encounter with Itachi alive.

"Hmm hmm." Tsunade cleared her throat, catching the others' attention.

"Eh…Baa-chan, you _are_ here. Ahaha, I didn't notice you for a second there." The blonde replied while scratching the back of his neck, feeling a bit embarrassed about not noticing the Hokage in his excitement.

"Well, if you came here properly and knocked the door, you probably would have." Tsunade straightened her back, trying to look intimidating in front of the rude boy.

"Yeah, whatever, old hag. Why did you call me here? And what the hell was with the slug?! Her voice is just plain irritating."

Tsunade glared at Naruto. This boy was always trying her patience, but she needed to be calm. It would not do to lose her cool in front her subordinates.

"Well, I have a mission for you all. As for the slug, I don't have any available assistant right now. We are all up to our necks in work from the Chunin exam."

There was three seconds of silence before Naruto shouted, "What mission? Sakura-chan and Kakashi-sensei just recovered. We can't be on a mission right now. And—and, like you said, we need people for the exam."

All the people in the room looked at him strangely. Naruto was the last person they would expect to reject a potential mission

"Are you rejecting a mission?"

"Huh? No, I just…. No, never mind. Just tell me what the mission is."

With a defeated sigh, Naruto plopped himself onto a nearby couch, readying himself for the mission briefing. It looked like he had no choice but to take the job, which meant that he had to wait for another day to pay a visit to a drug store. Moreover, Kakashi-sensei and Sakura had just recovered from their injuries, which made Naruto a little wary at the prospect of accepting the mission.

"Well, the mission is for you three is to go to the Field village in Grass country and catch that thieves that have been bothering the villagers there."

"What the..."

"Let me finish, brat. The Grass country villagers are civilians, and they don't have the confidence or skills to catch the thieves themselves. And they really do need our help right now, because the thieves have started to become more aggressive."

A pregnant silence filled the room. Everybody was contemplating the seriousness of the mission.

"Wait, can't you give this mission to any Genin team? This mission is not that hard. Those two have…….. Ohhhhh, wait. I know. You don't want me here during Chunin exam, right?"

"Naruto." Tsunade sighed pitifully.

Naruto knew it was true, when she said Naruto's name that way that never meant good news.

"Don't you 'Naruto' me!" the boy said, suddenly feeling emotional—if he listened to himself right now, he would realize that he sounded just like an angry wife.

"I didn't even do anything this time!" he continued, still feeling a bit betrayed by Tsunade's intention.

"I know. This has nothing to do with that. I just want you to be away for awhile until the Chunin exam ended."

"Why? I—"

"There's a lot of commotion about…hmm… How should I put this…safety precautions, and, as Hokage, I need to make this Chunin exam run smoothly. It will only take a few days, after all. But most importantly, I want you to be safe, Naruto."

Looking straight at Naruto, Tsunade concluded her explanation, unaware that she failed to keep her worry from showing from her eyes. She knew this couldn't be easy for Naruto, but she really hoped he would wise up this time and understand her reasoning. This mission was her way to keep Naruto safe from the negative receptions from outsiders that would come to the Chunin exam. Even though it looked like she was playing favourites by doing this, she didn't want to lose another precious person. Naruto was the only one she had after Jiraiya di…No, no. She still has not confirmed the news yet and that would have to wait. Now, she needed to persuade Naruto to leave first.

"I—," Tsunade tried to continue when Naruto cut her off.

"Alright, Baa-chan. I understand. Thanks for your concern, but you really didn't have to, you know. I can take care of myself. I'm the great Uzumaki Naruto-tebbayo!" the blonde boy said, trying to decrease the tension radiating from Tsunade. He was also a bit touched by Tsunade's concern for him and would've started to cry for no reason if not for Kakashi-sensei's question.

"When do we have to go?"

Drawing in a deep breath, Tsunade steadied herself before replying, "I need you to go this afternoon. All the details about the mission are in this scroll. Remember to destroy it afterward. Now, leave. I have a lot to do. Go!"

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The journey to Grass country took them almost three days of walking, which was longer than normal for such a trek. On the first day, Sakura and Kakashi-sensei still had nausea from their treatments, so they had to stop once in a while for that—well, Naruto had nausea, too, but that went unnoticed since he only felt sick in the morning when everybody else was still asleep. They also had to stop frequently to rest because Sakura and Kakashi-sensei still were not in their top condition.

By the second day of the journey, they just had to stop to rest—Sakura and Kakashi-sensei had stop vomiting, which ironically made Naruto worried because he didn't. Not wanting to make his teammates worry, he just kept quiet about it. The third day, Sakura and Kakashi-sensei were back to their top condition. They reached Field village near sunset and decided to stay at a nearby motel.

The very next day found them at the outskirts of the village. From the scouting that Kakashi-sensei did alone last night ("You kids go to sleep. It's adult time right now"), it was obvious that these thieves were not ordinary thieves. They moved in groups and had their own leader to conduct their activities, which dubiously sounded like bandits. And bandits almost always stayed inside a forest or near a hill for their headquarters. Not surprisingly, the Field village was a really strategic place for that: The village was surrounded by a hilly forest, for God's sakes!

After much sneaking around and movement-reading, Naruto reported to his teammates that they were about 20 something bandits and if they wanted to take all of them down, they better do it at night with the help of sleeping gas or something of that nature. Kakashi, being the leader of the mission's team, agreed with Naruto's observations and ordered them back to the village to get prepared. They would get back to work in two days; more investigation was needed to determine the bandits' strength, and acquiring the sleeping gas required time, too.

On the night of the operation, Kakashi carefully crept near the headquarters's opening to throw the sleeping gas bomb. The bandits, being the brash bunch that they were, never expected this kind of attack. They might have been very skilled in handling weapons such as daggers, swords, and knives, but they didn't know anything about strategy-based attack. So, not expecting such an ambush attack, they didn't have time to defend themselves and slept like logs after a few seconds of breathing in the gas.

Well, the mission sure was easy; all the bandits in the cave were down, and the shinobi began to tie them up only to find out there were five bandits missing. It was too late to hide when these five arrived and saw them tying up their mates. With a war cry, the bandits lunged to attack, and they quickly engaged the ninja in battle.

The fight was easy enough, simply because they were shinobi and the bandits were not. They could use cool jutsu, but the bandits only had steel weapons. Yet, Naruto, in his over-emotional state of excitement, managed to get slashed. On his stomach. Frozen for a moment, he looked at his bloodied shirt and, all of a sudden, started to freak out. Staring angrily at his attacker, he killed him with a single swipe at the neck.

Kneeling down on the ground, he desperately tried to wipe away the blood, hoping it would make his stomach somehow heal. After wiping for some time, he began to whisper hysterically to himself.

_I can't get it off. I can't get off. Get off, stupid blood. Get off!_

Noticing Naruto's weird reaction over a small cut, Sakura went to him.

"What's wrong, Naruto?"

"Sakura? Help me! The blood won't come off. My stomach. They hurt my stomach."

"Let me see." Sakura tried to be professional despite being a bit agitated by Naruto's over-reaction. She lifted his shirt to find a long cut across his stomach, but it was not deep enough to be fatal.

"It's just a small wound. Don't—"

"You don't understand! They hurt my stomach. It's bleeding!"

"Naruto, calm down. If you move so much, I can't heal you."

"No, no. I can't calm down. It's bleeding! I—I… Zzzz."

"Did you have to do that?"

"Kakashi-sensei! This idiot won't stay still; I had to put sleeping jutsu on him."

"Is he really hurt?" Concern laced his voice.

"No, not really. The wound is already healing, too. He doesn't need to freak out like that."

"Now, now. Don't be so mad. He's probably just tired. Hmm… Who is going to carry him back to Konoha, then?"

"Oops, I forgot about that. But you don't expect me to carry him, do you, Kakashi-sensei? I'm a girl! I can't carry him. It's not appropriate!"

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Naruto woke up to a rhythmic beat of a tap-tap sound.

_Huh, where am I?_

When he opened his eyes, all he could see was silver hair.

"Kakashi-sensei?" he asked groggily. How long had he been asleep?

"Ah, Naruto. You awake. Can you walk now?"

He was on Kakashi-sensei's back! Apparently, Kakashi-sensei had carried him on his back while he was fast asleep.

"Yeah, I guess so. I would want you to put me down even if I couldn't."

"Maa maa. Don't be embarrassed. You have nothing to be embarrassed about with me. I've seen it all." If it wasn't dark, one would see Kakashi's eyes lighted up with glee.

"Ewwww. Don't say something weird, you perverted old man! Someone might misunderstand."

Kakashi just grinned. He loved teasing his student; nowadays, that was his motivation of life. It was a privilege that came from being a teacher.

"Where's Sakura-chan?"

Naruto asked when he discovered that she was not with them, all the while feeling his stomach for the previous injury. He heaved a huge sigh of relief when he realized that his stomach had stopped bleeding.

"She's going back to the Field village to inform their leader about the bandits. She will catch up to us soon," Kakashi answered Naruto, his tone now serious.

"Are we heading back to Konoha?"

"Yeah, we are. We can't afford to wait any longer. This mission has taken longer than it should have, and the Chunin exam has ended, too. We should hurry back, or the Hokage will blow a lid."

Naruto chuckled.

"Yeah. Let's."

_I have something to do in Konoha, too._

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The debriefing of the mission was a breeze, and now Naruto was back in his apartment. After cleaning himself, he lay on his bed—only in his boxers—staring at the ceiling. If he was still uncertain about his decision concerning the pregnancy before, now he didn't have any speck of doubt about it—he definitely, definitely sure he COULDN'T kill the baby. Now that he decided to keep it, he had started to call it "baby"—not just as a nameless creature like before.

The panic attack he felt when the bandit slashed his stomach was a sure indication that he couldn't bear to lose this new life inside of him. He felt like he might die along with the baby if it did die at that time.

But the decision to keep the baby was not what made him unable to sleep now. The dilemma was about how to have a baby and how to raise it. Where should he start? He didn't know anything about raising a baby. Heck, he didn't know anything about pregnancy, either.

Naruto could feel a headache coming on. This baby was not even born, and yet he already had a headache about it.

_I need to know about pregnancy; I need to learn on how to raise a baby. Shit, I just can't ask anyone… It would be too suspicious. Hmm, maybe I can learn to be a "mother" by learning more about women?_

Naruto scoffed at the idea of learning about women, but he knew he had to do it.

_Then, maybe I should go to the city's center and watch them. Hopefully I can learn something from there._

That was probably not the best of ideas, but hey, a guy's got to start somewhere, right?

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He was early, was in a good spot, and had the best view of the busiest street of Konoha—all the rules for a good spy, or, in Naruto's case, educational observation. Since 9:00 AM he had been there, watching the women on the street talking, socializing, buying stuff, and some of them even taking care of kids that they brought with them. And, of all those women, his eyes were focused on a particular pregnant woman in a green dress with two children. She was holding the hand of one child and carrying another one in her arms so easily.

What made Naruto so interested in watching her was her way of handling her kids. At one point, the toddler that was holding the lady's hand threw a temper-tantrum because she wasn't allowed to buy the toy in a nearby display. This, in turn, made the younger child in the lady's arms cry, too—just like a chain reaction.

For Naruto, who had never handled a kid before, this kind of situation was like a horrible disaster, especially since it was in the middle of the street like this. But the woman—like she had done this her entire life—bent down to the toddler's level and calmed her down smoothly with just words! The baby in her arms calmed down soon afterward. After that, like nothing had happened, they continued strolling around the town.

Deciding that this woman was a perfect mother for a model, he followed her around, watching her every step—Naruto even thought of following her home just to watch what she did daily as a mother. He was cut off from his thinking process when the mother in question turned and stared suspiciously at him.

"What are you trying to do, young man, following me around like this? I'm not comfortable with it. If you have anything to say, say it now."

"Well, I just was, er… watching, I guess. Nothing more." Feeling a little bit awkward that he was caught watching, Naruto just grinned foolishly.

"As you can see, I already have two kids and am married." She showed him her ring. "So I would appreciate it if you stopped trying to flirt with me."

"What? No, no. I—I just—" Naruto tried to explain.

"Go find someone else. Goodbye, and if you follow me again, I will report this to your superior," she said with an indignant huff.

After the lady and her two kids walked away, Naruto was left standing there, stupefied. He honestly didn't know how "that" was flirting and quickly fled the scene when he noticed people staring at him—they must have seen what had happened just a few minutes ago.

_Maybe watching people like that was not a good idea. I need to do something else_.

_Ah-hah!_ One could see a light-bulb turn on in his head.

Speeding down the street like his life depended on it, he sprinted to the hospital—or, more specifically, to the maternity ward. He couldn't believe that he didn't think about this first. What better way to learn about pregnancy and giving birth than to see it yourself?

The first thing he did when he arrived at the maternity ward was make himself as unnoticeable as possible—he walked quietly and hid his face by looking down all the time. Another embarrassing scene like what had just happened in the city's center was the last thing he wanted.

_Right, where to go first? Yup, the delivery room-tebbayo!_

Naruto wandered the corridors blindly in search for the delivery room. There were a lot of empty chairs along the corridors, only some of them occupied. People who sat on them almost always had a large stomach. Naruto couldn't help but stare at them.

_Will I be like that too?_

He stopped staring when the pregnant women threw him dirty looks and continued wandering the corridors until he saw a room with a big glass window for display. It was the only room there that had a big window like that—it was the baby room! From outside, one could see that there were a lot of babies inside—all of them were bald and red-faced with very tiny fingers.

_Wow! They are so cute, and—and I can't believe I have one in my stomach._

Naruto plastered himself onto the transparent glass, unable to take his eyes off the cute creatures sleeping in the room. His eyes started to water as a surge of warm feelings flowed through his entire body.

Too absorbed in this new emotion, he forgot his plan to be as unnoticeable as possible and attracted people's attention. He didn't even notice a presence lurking near him.

"It's you again! What are you doing here? Do you have some kind of weird fetish? Do you get excited by looking at pregnant women or something? Don't tell me you came here to peep on pregnant women."

Naruto turned to the voice yelling at him and instantly recognized her. It was the lady in the green dress with two kids—but now she was without her kids.

"No!! You're wrong, lady. I just came to watch! Honest! I swear! I won't do anything like peeping or something sick like that."

"Watch, you say? Watch what? People giving birth?"

"Err… Yeah, if I can find the right room…" Naruto replied uncertainly, a bit scared when he saw the murderous eyes of the woman.

"Oh my God! You are a sick, sick young man. Nurse! Security! Please keep this boy away from the maternity ward!"

_Oh shit!_

Naruto ran like hell from the hospital—it looked like he needed to find another method to learn about pregnancy and all that jazz.

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The next morning, Naruto was more determined than ever to learn—being accused of being a pervert and being chased down by security guards were just small obstacles in the process. He wouldn't back down that easily—this was his way of ninja-tebbayo!

He started his day by training as usual, showering, eating cups of ramen for breakfast, and talking to his plants, and he was set to go; if only he knew where to go. Although he was determined, he really had no idea where to start today, so he decided to roam the streets aimlessly until he thought of one.

On his aimless walk, he noticed people were looking at him weirdly like he was some kind of sick pervert or something. Oh, wait. Maybe he was. After all, when the security guards were chasing him yesterday, they shouted, "Catch that pervert!" so loudly that Naruto was sure that Gaara could hear it.

He sighed. What a mess. Yet another reason on the list for why people stare at him—he might as well put a paper bag over his head to hide from their eyes. Naruto was seriously contemplating doing just that when he suddenly felt a familiar movement under his shirt.

Tsunade's slug!

"What do you want?" he asked the slug, not bothering to take it out this time. If that thing wanted to stay there, it could stay there. He didn't care anymore.

"Hokage. Meet. Now."

"What does she want now?"

"Hokage. Meet. Now."

"Jeez. Don't you know how to say anything else?"

"Hokage. Meet. Now."

Naruto rolled his eyes at the slug's antics—he knew that damn slug could talk more than that—and teleported to Hokage Tower.

The blond boy busted into the room without knocking as usual, much to Tsunade's dismay.

"So, why do I have to be here today? I know you don't have any missions for me because my team is unavailable as you put it." Naruto stressed the word "unavailable" by using his two fingers to imitate quotations.

"How many times do I have to tell you to knock, brat? Where are your manners?" A hint of warning was in her voice.

Leaning back on her chair, Tsunade irritably looked at the boy who dismissed her warning with flaps of his hand. When she got no answer from Naruto, she continued, "Speaking of manners, I heard something 'not nice' about you yesterday. Something to do with 'harassing' pregnant women? Care to explain?"

Tsunade stressed the words "not nice" and "harassing" to get Naruto's attention, since he had begun to play with his chair.

At first, she didn't believe the complaints she received about Naruto harassing random women on the street—he was such an innocent and naïve boy—but when she thought about who his senseis were, the possibility was there. Poor, poor, innocent Naruto. What did those perverts teach him?

Naruto turned red from embarrassment. Somebody made a complaint to the Hokage about him harassing women?

"What? No!! I was… errr... They were….err…I just—"

"Oh, Naruto-kun, you don't have to explain." Tsunade grinned slyly. "I know young boys your age have, er… certain 'urges.'"

"Hey!!" he said loudly, a bit flustered by the accusation, "You are wro—"

"But you can't do this, Naruto. You have a reputation to hold as the future Hokage candidate."

"Like I told you, you are wro—"

"So, as a punishment, you have to reorganize the files in the Hokage's archive. Treat it as your training to be a Hokage." Tsunade finished her speech as if she didn't hear Naruto speaking.

"Don't cut me off like that! Listen to me, I said I just…. Eh, wait, did you say punishment?"

"Indeed. You can start today at 9:00 AM, and you are not allowed to leave until 6:00 PM. Understand?"

"That's not fair. Those damn files are yours. You do it! Don't try to slack off, you hag."

Tsunade smiled menacingly.

"Do you want to do D-class missions for a month?"

"I'll do it, Hokage-sama. Your order is my command," was Naruto's immediate response.

"That's a good boy. Now go start your work. I'll send someone to bring you lunch later."

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_I swear that old hag just wanted to bully me. Hokage training, my ass! What good will these stupid files do for me?_

Naruto was still fuming when he reached the archive and still was, even after two hours of organizing. Deeming that he had the right to take a rest after two hours of non-stop working, he sat on a comfy chair facing a book-rack. Immediately, a book title caught his eyes: _Pregnancy and Post-Pregnancy; All You Need to Know_. Boy, was he a lucky one. This was just the thing he needed in his life right now.

And so, he read the book—completely abandoning the task he was supposed to do. Along with his reading, he started to understand the abnormalities that were happening to him little by little.

_No wonder I was angry all the time. And—and the throwing up. And the tiredness. And the crying._

Naruto scratched his head.

_But the throwing up should only start about two to three weeks after, er… conceiving. Something is not right here. What else has the demon been hiding from me?_

But he decided to worry about that later, because he wanted to finish reading this book. Besides, the vomiting had stopped.

By the time he had his lunch, he had learned the dos and the don'ts of pregnancy, which left him with a list of things to do: He needed to eat more vegetables (he could live with that), couldn't drink any alcoholic beverages (he never had any anyway), needed to avoid strenuous activity (hmm, that might be a problem), needed a new wardrobe, apparently (he would be much bigger than now, and his normal clothes wouldn't fit anymore), and lots more.

_Heh! This is not that bad. I can do this._

Naruto was full of confidence until he came to the delivering chapter. First, his face turned blue, soon switching to green. After a while, it turned blue again, and he started foaming in the mouth.

_How? That's impossible, right? This is just—just fiction. Yes, fiction. There's no way a baby can come out from a hole four, no, six… No, not six, _ten_ times smaller than the baby itself?! And—and I don't even have that freaking hole to begin with!_

Naruto blushed hotly when he realized that he was thinking about a—a very private part of the human body. He couldn't believe himself. Had he become a pervert now like everybody believed?

Naruto absently shook his head.

No, he had not! He was just learning. Yes, learning. This was a process of learning. It was based on noble thoughts, not perverted ones.

_Is this for real? Oh shit._

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At 6:00 PM when Tsunade came to call him off, Naruto had become a walking zombie—he was too shocked about what he read, and, even worse, all of the scary facts and gory truths would be imprinted in his mind for life. He sure he would have nightmares from this.

With a "Thank you for the meal, Hokage-sama," he absentmindedly walked out of the room and went home.

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It took Naruto the rest of the evening and a good night's sleep to break the zombie-like state he was in. And today was a fresh start to Naruto. Sure, he was still shaken from reading the book yesterday, but he had learned to accept the shocking truths overnight. It was human nature, after all.

Also, starting today the Hokage was not his ultimate hero anymore. Yes, he had a change of heart. His ultimate heroes now were mothers, and no, it was not stupid at all. Mothers went to hell and back to deliver their babies through a hole ten times too small. And the most amazing thing was that they lived to tell the tale!

So, today he planned to visit one of his heroes—Kurenai-sensei. She just gave birth to a baby boy about a month ago, or at least Naruto was told. Yay, double joy! He got to meet his hero—and her baby—and he could learn something from her, too.

As expected, Kurenai-sensei was at home—she was off-duty for three months. She was not very surprised to see Naruto at her doorstep, even though Naruto was not a close acquaintance of her. She has received a lot of visitors lately who came to see the newborn baby—Naruto was just one of them.

The baby in question was sleeping in his crib when Naruto came, all wrapped up in a blanket with his hands fisted.

"What is his name?" Naruto asked to start a conversation.

"Asuma. Sarutobi Asuma."

"Oh, it's nice," he replied, noticing a tint of sadness in the woman's voice when she answered him.

A long silence engulfed them. It was awkward; neither knew what to say to each other.

_I have to say something. Anything!_

"So, was it painful?" he blurted out.

_Shit. Why did I have to say that?_

"Excuse me?" Surprised by the question, Kurenai-sensei turned to face Naruto, who was fidgeting badly in his seat.

_Fuck it. Just ask her._

"I meant the delivery. I heard it was very painful."

"Oh, that." Kurenai chuckled and continued, "It was painful indeed. I felt like I was torn in two… like—like I was dying, only I was still alive. I have never felt such pain like that before, and I surely don't want to experience it again."

This time she laughed out loud like she was talking about a happy experience instead of a painful one. Naruto swallowed nervously. He was beginning to pale.

"Was it really true? You are not joking, are you? Then—then how come you still wanted to give birth?"

"Naruto-kun, you don't understand." She tapped Naruto's nose as a way of reprimanding him. "Yes, it was very painful, but, in the end, it was worth it. I have a son to call my own now."

As if the baby knew they were talking about him, he started to wail. Kurenai-sensei picked him up and started to rock him back and forth to calm him down. The baby gradually stopped crying, but now he was wide awake. With unfocused eyes he stared at the stranger that he was meeting for the first time. Realizing that the baby was looking at him, Naruto froze for a while—that warm feeling was back.

"Do you want to hold him?"

"Huh? I can?" Naruto was caught by surprise. He had never held a baby before, but he was itching to hold the baby.

"Sure you can. Here." Kurenai-sensei handed the baby to him. "Just make sure you hold the head; Asuma-chan can't hold his head up himself yet. Yes, like that. Careful, okay?"

"He—he is soft, and he smells nice, too," Naruto said in a small voice. He was in awe and even more so when the baby moved his hands to grab his finger.

"Ano sa, Kurenai-sensei," Naruto called without lifting up his head from looking at the baby, "Can I come again sometime?"

The new mother just smiled. She didn't know why Naruto was so interested in babies, but hey, she needed all the help she could get. Being a single parent was not easy, and if somebody was willing to come and keep her company, she was grateful.

"Sure. Anytime you'd like."

So, for almost two weeks, Naruto made it his routine to visit Kurenai-sensei and the baby. Now, he could already handle the baby alone if he wanted to, which made him very proud of himself.

His lack of missions was a blessing as well. He was not really sure why his team was busy. According to Tsunade, Kakashi-sensei was sent to do some scouting mission on a missing person—she couldn't tell him more than that—while Sakura was busy with her training at the hospital. So that left him with nothing to do—sometimes he got D-class missions, and once received a C-class mission during this period. Well, he wouldn't complain about it. Instead he felt relief that he didn't get any high-class missions. It was too risky for his pregnancy.

And talking about risky, he had thought long and hard regarding that. At the conclusion of his thoughts, he decided that he wouldn't have his baby here in Konoha.

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Okay, that's it for chapter 4; sorry for the delay.

Next up,

**Chapter 5: A Runaway Mum**


	5. A Runaway Mom

Edited by Obscure Omen.

Disclaimer: Naruto is © to Kishimoto, a Japanese mangaka.

A SasuNaru story. A slow kind.

**Chapter 5: A Runaway Mom**

Naruto was on his way to a D-rank mission—the second mission he had received since he woke up in the hospital after the fight with Itachi. Between helping Tsunade with organizing the files in the archive and making daily visits to Kurenai-sensei's house, he had not had much time to do missions. And thank God for that! In his entire 18 years of life, he never would have thought that he would be thankful for not having any missions.

Genuinely he was glad now that Tsunade gave him the organizing job. That job, even though it was totally mind-numbing and could bore him to death one of these days, it was still the best excuse he had for avoiding daily missions without arousing any suspicions.

Sometimes he felt like kissing the old hag just to show her his gratitude, but he and everyone else knew that that would never happen—the image of Naruto kissing Tsunade itself was disturbing, and the real action might cause blindness. So, it went without saying that a hazardous action like that should be avoided.

And who would ever surmise he could learn so much from it—things that he really needed to know or risk dying. Seriously, this was no joke. If he had not read the book about pregnancy and stuff, he might have had a severe hemorrhage right now by doing something stupid like jumping from roof to roof. Yeah, something stupid like that, which was not considered stupid at all if he was not pregnant—that was a normally type of transportation for a shinobi like him.

And…. Jeng jeng jeng. Guess what? He also found the real reason why Sasuke did what he did that time. Realizing it, he had the decency to feel a little bit embarrassed for accusing Sasuke of… quite a few things. But just a little bit, though—he was still angry at that bastard for not telling him the real reason sooner, and it was natural to put the blame on him entirely. Because how the hell he was supposed to know that having intercourse could save someone's life? Did they teach that at the Academy? He didn't think so, because he couldn't imagine Iruka-sensei explaining something so explicit like that to kids. The man was a complete prude; he probably would die from embarrassment from his own speech.

Oh, speaking of Iruka-sensei, he was in the mission room when Naruto went to pick up his mission scroll for today's mission. He looked a little worried as Kotetsu passed Naruto the scroll. On the other hand, Kotetsu looked like he could barely contain his glee, which never was a good sign; something smelled fishy here. Curiosity piqued, he opened the scroll immediately.

He found nothing suspicious. It was just normal, D-class mission instructions that said he had to go meet an old lady who lived by the riverbed to help her with her daily chores. It did have some extra instructions, though, but the "mind your language, and please behave accordingly" instruction was hardly suspicious.

Naruto was well aware of his own way of speaking—which was very rude and loud—so that statement might have been Tsunade's way of warning him to behave. Huh, like he didn't know better. He could be polite and nice if he wanted to-tebbayo! Not one to be beaten in a challenge, he would make sure this mission would go smoothly and show that old hag (Tsunade) that he was an excellent shinobi that could take any mission thrown at him.

"Good morning! Anybody home? I am your helper for today," Naruto said as soon as he reached the assignated house and grinned to himself—he had accomplished the first step of being polite: He'd given a good greeting. The next step was to introduce himself when the old lady showed up.

Nobody answered his greeting. This time Naruto tried to knock on the door. Who knew—maybe the old lady didn't hear him the first time. After five minutes, there was still no answer, and he began to think that he might have gotten the wrong house.

_But in the scroll it says the house has a watermelon garden around it. The name tag is also right. The Kamajimas. This is definitely it._

Naruto tried to knock again when the door opened to reveal a very old woman in her late 80s. She had her grey hair in a neat bun and was using a stick for support. But that was not her most prominent feature. Her eyes took that prize. Her eyes were cloudy like there was a thin layer of grey clouded over them. She was blind! No wonder she took so much time just getting to the door.

Once again, Naruto greeted, "Good morning! I'm your helper for today. My name is—"

"Oh, you're here!" She pulled Naruto in. "I am sorry to make you wait. My hair didn't want to cooperate today—it took me a while to get it all in a bun. Hehe…Thank you, thank you. How nice of you to come here on such short notice. I thought I was going to be all alone today. I'm very thankful you could come. Saki-chan, my helper, had to accompany his little brother to the Academy, you know. That Sakae-kun is already six, and he is so excited about going to the Academy. He is such a sweet boy." The old lady finished her sentence with a smile.

Naruto was impressed with how the old lady could speak so much in so little time without seeming to have to stop and catch a breath.

_She sure talks a lot, this old granny. Hmmm, I think I'm forgetting something here. Oh, I have to introduce myself again._

"My name is—" Naruto tried again.

"Ah, silly me. You have to excuse me, young lady."

_Young lady?_

"I'm getting old, and I tend to forget things, but still, how can I forget to introduce myself? Silly me, silly me." She chuckled, trying to cover her mistake. "My name is Himeno. Come, come sit here. What's your name, young lady? Oh… I'm sooo grateful they sent me a girl. I specially requested for a girl, you know, but they said no girls were available. But I said back, not even one? They said back, not even one. There are not many kunoichi to begin with, they said. So I said to them, if they can't send me a girl, I don't want anyone."

Naruto gulped nervously. What was the meaning of this? He could sense something was wrong here.

"Are you a man-hater or something, granny?"

Granny Himeno chuckled again before she continued, "No, no, not that. Never that. I once had a husband, you know. He was such a lovely man. So hardworking, and a very responsible father. I still miss him after all these years. The gardens are only here from all his hard work. I'm lucky to still have that as a remembrance. So, you see, I'm not a man-hater. Well, I'm not picky or sexist, either, you know, but I had have bad experiences with those male ninja." She let out a tired sigh. "I couldn't stand them. The last time I hired them, they almost destroyed my precious garden."

Naruto gulped again. Uh-oh, smelled like trouble. She really didn't want a boy to work with her if that angry look in her eyes was any indication. Then, should he just pretend? But surely the granny would know by his voice? Was this what that old hag meant when she said "please behave accordingly"? Damn that old hag. Naruto would get her back for this.

"Ah, sorry. I was carrying on again. You should stop me when I started to ramble. Don't be shy." She patted Naruto on the head, hoping that the gesture would make the atmosphere friendlier. "So, what's your name, young girl? You have such soft hair…" she trailed off, still patting Naruto's head.

Making a fast decision, Naruto answered, "Maki. My name is Maki."

Granny Himeno retracted her hand from Naruto's head, gesturing for him to stand up and follow her.

"You do have a girl's name. I thought you were a boy for a second there. Your voice is deeper than the voice of any girl I've ever met. It must be hard for you to find a boyfriend with that kind of voice."

"Che, I don't need one ever," Naruto answered with a small voice, careful not to be heard by the granny.

"Don't worry, Maki-chan. Even with that kind of voice, you still will find a boyfriend because you are such a nice girl."

"How do you know that? We just met," he questioned, confused by the granny's quick judgment of his character.

Granny Himeno chuckled again.

"I know because you listened patiently to my rambling just now. Not everyone would do that, you know. It's hard to have people listening to you nowadays."

Naruto looked at the granny's face when she said that and saw a well-known expression etched there. Loneliness. He brushed the tip of the granny's finger with his own to show his understanding.

"So, what am I supposed to do today, Granny Himeno?" he said quite exuberantly, trying to lighten the mood.

"I haven't told you yet? Oh silly, silly me. Well, as you can see, I have a watermelon garden at my front yard."

Naruto nodded his head before he realized that the granny couldn't see him, so he said, "Yes, I can see them. They are big and ripe. They must be really sweet."

"Yes, yes, they are very sweet. But that is not what I called you here for. I want you to help me pluck the sunflowers in my backyard."

"Sunflowers?"

"Yes, sunflowers. I can't let them wither away just like that. I can smell them from inside the house. If we don't pluck them today, it will be a waste."

The blond boy could feel his manly pride crack a little. First, he had to pretend he was a girl. Now he had to do one of the least manly tasks imaginable. Picking sunflowers? What the hell?

Shit, whatever. He was already there, so he might as well do it. Damn that Tsunade.

"So, where do I begin?"

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Naruto swore his hair was beginning to smell like it was burning in the scorching heat when he heard the granny call him back into the house. He refused to wear the straw hat the granny offered him—he had to hold on to whatever pride he still had, and wearing the straw hat would not help.

A jug of iced tea was waiting for him at the table. Granny Himeno was calmly sipping a cup at one of the seats. She just smiled when she heard Naruto sighing in pleasure, drinking the cold tea.

"Thanks, Granny." He was not only grateful for the tea; he was also amazed at how the granny could prepare the tea.

"Ahh, it's nothing. I always make tea. It is my favourite drink. I like to drink it with watermelon. Speaking of which, if you don't mind, can you take one of those watermelons and bring it in? They're ripe enough to eat, and they are very sweet—you should try some."

Naruto happily obliged—watermelon was heavenly in this hot weather. To get to eat it was beyond ecstasy.

"Yeah, you were right, granny. This is sweet. Do you use sugar as fertilizer?"

Granny Himeno laughed heartily.

"You are funny, Mika-chan. That reminds me: My son tried to do that once. I didn't notice it until an army of ants surrounded our garden."

"Hahaha, really? Where is he now? I'd like to meet this dumbass."

Granny Himeno stiffened, her frame going rigid.

_Oh no! I said something stupid, didn't I? I know I said something stupid. Shit, shit, shit. _

"He's dead."

Naruto stopped the self-blame when he heard it. Her voice was very low and full of grief, and Naruto almost didn't catch it the first time.

"Along with my three other sons."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's not your fault. You probably were not even born yet. It was all the Kyuubi's fault."

The blond felt like something stabbed his heart.

"I lost everything that night. My husband and four sons. I tried to find out what happened later. You know what I heard?"

"What?" His voice was quivering. He could guess what she was going to say next.

"That damn thing was sealed in a baby boy. Not killed, but sealed! I saw him. Everybody knows him. A blue-eyed, blond boy. They should have killed the baby. He is a curse to us all."

"Do—do you hate him that much? Even after all these years?" He started to tremble.

"Hate? No, Mika-chan. I don't hate him. Hate can't even begin to describe what I feel. I loathe him. What I wouldn't give to be given the chance to…" Granny Himeno trailed off. She had a faraway look in her eyes before she snapped out of her hatred.

"Ahh, sorry for telling you all these sad things, Mika-chan. I got over-emotional for a moment there."

She received no reply.

"Mika-chan, Mika-chan? Where are you?"

Naruto was already gone—screw being polite; he needed to be away from the hatred.

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Naruto was at the abandoned training ground again, not at Kurenai-sensei's house as he was planning earlier. He needed some space to think clearly, because right now his head was clouded by painful emotions—he was hurt by what Granny Himeno had said, yet he had already anticipated that. Even though she said "he" was nice in the beginning, in the end "he" was loathed by her the entire time. The worst thing was that he couldn't do anything about it. If he was in Granny Himeno's shoes, he would loathe "him," too.

This was a cruel twist of fate bestowed upon him, and he was powerless to change it. He sounded like Neji now, and for once, maybe Neji was right. People can't change fate; all one can do is accept.

Naruto yanked his hair. He knew that—he had accepted his fate long before this! But now, his condition was different. He was carrying a new life in him, and never in his life—if he could help it—would he let the same fate fall upon his child. Not in a million years—either that or over his dead body!

That was why he planned to leave this village to give birth to his child and go on from there. He didn't care if he died in the middle of the woods in his own pool of blood, because living in hatred was worse than death—he knew that all too well.

Naruto admitted that his situation might have changed over the years. Many people had begun to accept him for who he was—he had friends now, had people who loved him unconditionally, and had kickass instructors, too, although they were very perverted. But, would they accept a demon child born of a _male_ demon holder? He didn't think so. They might try to kill his child at any chance they got, especially those of the older generations like Granny Himeno.

This plan was made up when he first decided to keep the baby. Even if he had not thought about this properly at that time, his instinct told him to do so. Or maybe the fox demon instinct. He wasn't sure. What he really sure of was that he definitely would leave this village. All in all, he had already picked where to go—it was a nice place to raise a demon child.

All he had to do now was say farewell to "his family": Sakura-chan, Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, and Tsunade-sama.

And do some more shopping. He needed a dress, damnit.

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Whoever said saying goodbye is hard was a freaking genius. How did they know that? Research? Books? Fortune cookies? He couldn't even know who to say his goodbye to first. Should he go to everybody one by one or just throw a party? Or invite them to his house? Or treat them to Ichiraku's? Or just meet them on the street, or… The options were endless.

Naruto thumped his head against the wall. Why did everything have to be so difficult for him recently? First he met Itachi, which in turn made him meet Sasuke, which incidentally made him pregnant, and consequently forced him to leave his beloved village. Why couldn't he just be an ordinary boy and grow up, meet a girl, fall in love, get married, have children, and die of old age? It might be a boring and mundane life, but he didn't need so much excitement in life, either.

Maybe he should try writing a book about his life or something—at least he could make money with that. Yeah, he could picture it now—_Naruto: My Abnormal Life and Ramen_. Or, _How to Fuck Up Your Life Royally_. That would be a nice catch-title; it would be a best-seller for sure.

_Gahhhh! What am I thinking? Just pick a name already! Whatever! I'll just throw this kunai. Whosever name gets hit will be the one I go to first._

_Ack, Iruka-sensei! So, Iruka-sensei's first, huh?_

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Naruto found Iruka-sensei easily enough—he already familiar with the teacher's routine. After his nightly shift at the mission room ended, he would either go home or hang out for a while at Ichiraku's. Today, the famous teacher decided to go straight home, which was just perfect for Naruto, because he wanted to speak to his teacher alone.

"Eh, Naruto-kun, what are you doing here?"

"Ehehe, I just want to see you, sensei. You are so busy lately, you haven't treated me to Ichiraku's for a while now."

"Heh. That's not because I'm busy; it's because I don't have enough money. You and your gigantic appetite left me penniless."

"Maaaa, Iruka-sensei. You're stingy."

Naruto made a face. Iruka just laughed at his silly expression and invited him in.

"So, why did you really come? Did you get into trouble again? Is it about the incident at the hospital that other day? How many times do I have to tell you not to play pra—"

"Iruka-sensei, you talk too much. I don't just come to you because I get into trouble, you know. Geez, have some faith in me, willya?"

"Hahaha. You're right." Iruka patted Naruto's head.

"You come to me when you want a free meal. Oh, don't make that face. You know I'm right. Ok, ok. I'm sorry. How about some onigiri as an apology?"

Naruto gave a big grin. Lately he really craved onigiri, apart from his usual ramen supply, and Iruka-sensei made the best onigiri ever.

"You are the best, Iruka-sensei!"

"I know I am."

"Huh, don't be so conceited, old man just because I praised you a little."

Iruka bonked Naruto's head.

"Hey, what was that for?!"

"That was for calling me conceited, and—" Iruka flicked the boy's forehead. "—that was for calling me an old man. Now, if you want this—" Iruka waved the onigiri about. "—tell me about what you have done these last few weeks."

So the teacher and student talked the night away until Iruka almost smashed his face into his plate because of his sleepiness. Even then Naruto was reluctant to go home, because he might never talk to Iruka-sensei like this again, but the older man looked really tired. With a soft "good night," he left Iruka-sensei's house.

That was Naruto's first goodbye.

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Meeting with Sakura was a surprise. Naruto was on a shopping trip to buy a dress. Yes, he needed a dress—this was for survival, he swore!—and then there she was, browsing the line next to him. At first, he was frantically trying to hide himself between and under the dresses, but Sakura spotted him anyway.

"Naruto? What are you doing here? Are you trying to peep on women again? I heard of what you did from Tsunade-sensei."

Sakura advanced on him with a very scary face.

"Hahaha, Sakura-chan. I didn't see you there. How are you? I haven't seen you for so long."

"Don't pull that crap on me; I just met you yesterday. Come!"

"Ouch, ouch, ouch. Sakura-chan, you are going to tear my ear!"

They were heading to a nearby dango stall with Sakura dragging Naruto by the ear away from the store.

_What was that idiot thinking, hiding like that under women's dresses?_

Like everybody else, she had heard the news about Naruto visiting the hospital to peep on pregnant women—she was so embarrassed for Naruto about that. You see, Sakura began to see Naruto as a sibling after all the things they had been through, and what kind of sibling wanted to see their own kin make a fool of themselves?

Okay, maybe Itachi. But he didn't count; he was a lunatic!

"Naruto," Sakura said after they finally sat on the free stools at the back of the shop. "What was that just now? Are you really turning into a pervert?"

"No, Sakura-chan! I was just browsing the clothes. There's nothing wrong with that, right?" Naruto answered with a slight nervousness in his voice—Sakura was angry.

"You were hiding under the dresses, you idiot! How is that browsing, huh?" Sakura crackled her knuckles.

"Ahhh, Sakura-chan, I swear I just browsing! I wanted to by a dress for—for, err… Kurenai-sensei. Yes, Kurenai-sensei!"

"Really?" She looked at him with disbelief but decided to let it go—it was hard to stay angry with Naruto anyway.

"So, how have you been, Sakura-chan? Are you that busy? We haven't done any missions together for a while now. Where is that lazy sensei of ours, anyway? I haven't seen him lately." Naruto bombarded Sakura with questions in an attempt to avoid answering her question just now—he really didn't want to confirm the lie he created so spontaneously.

"Well, I am quite busy. People get sick all the time; it makes me wonder if they do that purposely," she mused.

"Nobody would pur—"

"And Kakashi-sensei? I heard from Tsunade-sensei that he is on a long mission. Tracking somebody, or something. I don't know. She couldn't tell me more. Looks like we have to postpone the mission." She breathed out the last sentence with slight regret.

"The mission?"

"Sasuke, remember?"

"Oh, that bastard."

Sakura looked at Naruto strangely with a little bit of concern. Did he forget? How could he forget when he was the one who was the most motivated to bring Sasuke back?

"Are you okay, Naruto? You are not sick, are you? If you are sick, you can come to me, you know. I can heal you. And don't call him that."

"Nahhh. I'm okay. Don't worry about me. Ne, Sakura-chan, you still like that bas—I mean Sasuke. He is a jerk—you know that, right?"

"Well…" Sakura blushed. Obviously she still had a crush on that avenger boy.

"And here I thought you were with thick-brows."

All the blood drained from Sakura's face, and she shivered at the cold accusation.

"Naruto!!"

Naruto laughed—Sakura's reaction was priceless—which led to a verbal fight between the two. The banter of the two close friends could be heard within the stall until Sakura had to excuse herself.

That was Naruto's second goodbye.

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He had already packed what he needed for his journey the night before: food, bottled drinks, blankets, the dress, scrolls, and some other essential items. Now he was on his way to the Hokage Tower to ask the Hokage's permission for an absence. He was not planning to be a missing nin. That would be troublesome in a long run—Tsunade would send some people chasing after him if he went missing. Hiding and running was not his preferred way of living. Moreover, he needed to say his last goodbye to Tsunade.

As expected, Tsunade's face was grim when Naruto said he would be living. Of course Naruto didn't tell Tsunade the true reason why he wanted to leave—he could not tell her now or ever. Or anyone else, for that matter.

The Hokage didn't make a sound for almost five minutes, and Naruto almost thought she would say no. He was about to give her his ultimatum when he heard her speak.

"Tell me again: Why do you have to leave?"

"The Kyuubi. That thing needs to be in his natural habitat—otherwise it will go berserk. I don't want that to happen. So I need to go to some forest or something. You have to understand, Hokage-sama."

That was half-truth, actually. The Kyuubi really like to be in its natural state, but he wouldn't go berserk from it. Well, Tsunade didn't need to know that.

_He called me "Hokage-sama." He must be desperate if he's doing that. How serious is this situation?_

"And I don't want you to send anyone trailing after me, either. The Kyuubi will know, and it won't like it. You won't like it either if that demon decided to kill every human in its close proximity," Naruto continued with a very serious face.

"You have planned all of this, haven't you? Even if I don't allow you to go, you will still go, right?"

"I—"

"And don't you think I will buy that crap about the Kyuubi needing some space. Do you think you can lie to me? I've known you long enough to sense it in you. Besides, you are a terrible liar, Naruto."

"Old hag! I'm no—"

"Fine. If you want some space, I'll give you space. You must be pretty desperate to come and lie to me like that. Do whatever you must do. I give you my permission."

They looked at each other for a moment, Tsunade trying to read Naruto's reason from the emotions flitting through the boy's eyes. She didn't come out with anything because then Naruto bowed in a thank-you gesture.

"But with one condition. You have to come back after a year."

"That's not fair! I don't know ho—" Naruto tried to reason with her.

"I don't care. It must seem unfair to you, but you are the one who's being unfair here, Naruto. I don't want to lose another promising ninja."

_I don't want to lose you._

"But, Tsunade-sama, I—"

"Silence. Fine, I'll give you one and a half years, and that's final. If you are gone longer than that, I'll send people to track you down, understand?"

Naruto opened his mouth to argue again, but at one look at Tsunade's grief-stricken face, he decided against it. Instead, he nodded his head to show his understanding.

"Promise me you'll be back. No matter what happens, promise me you'll be back here to see me again. Promise me, Naruto." There was a hint of fear in her voice.

Not to disappoint the disturbed Hokage, Naruto slowly nodded his head again.

"I want you to say it."

"I promise."

This time, Tsunade smiled. Naruto had promised her; she could be relieved now—that boy would surely come back.

Bowing his head once again—this time as a gesture of respect—he excused himself and left the Hokage's office before Tsunade suddenly decided to change her mind.

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He had been on this route before, so it took less time for him to reach his destination. It was almost afternoon when he finally arrived in front of the cave opening. The bandits' old headquarters looked abandoned, just as Naruto had thought. The spider-webs covering the cave's opening indicated that nobody had gone through it in some time.

The abandoned cave was quite cozy inside; it was big and tall enough that Naruto didn't have to bend all the time. There was stuff scattered around the cave floor that was left behind by the bandits: pots, blankets, a gasoline lamp, knives, cutlery… The list went on. In short, the cave had all a person needed for a small house.

Satisfied with the cave's condition, Naruto ventured outside to find a water source, and not surprisingly, he found a clear water source near the cave. You see, the cave was situated at the base of a mountain, which had a river flowing from the top. No wonder the bandits picked this cave as their headquarters. They even built a makeshift shower and cleaning deck at the riverbed.

Naruto couldn't be happier about his new home right now. He circled the place some more to memorize its outline whilst picking up small, dried sticks for firewood. It was getting darker, and even though it was hot during the day, night could be chilling.

He started a fire at the middle of the cave, throwing sticks on one by one so the fire got bigger. When the fire was big enough to warm up the whole cave, he started to clean up the place. He let out a huge grin when he finished cleaning. Now he had a comfortable, warm home to call his own: He had a space to sleep, a small kitchen, and a roof to cover his head.

This was a sweet beginning for Naruto.

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Naruto's life quickly fell into a routine. Every morning after he woke up, before anything else, he would go out to train. After the sun got slightly higher and the morning fog vanished, he would go to the river to take a bath and do some washing as well. While he was bathing, he also put up a trap to catch fish; the trap looked like an open basket, which he placed against the river's current.

Finished with that, he would scout around the forest for food by hunting or searching for wild fruit. This way, he also could keep an eye on wild animals—which, to this day, never appeared near him. He had a suspicion that it might have something to do with the Kyuubi. Wild animals—especially predators—could sense the stronger predator and, by nature, would always keep themselves at a safe distance. For once, Naruto was thankful he had the Kyuubi sealed in him.

In a short time, Naruto had gotten to know the forest quite well. He knew where to hunt his rabbits or wild chickens and where to find the sweetest fruit. He also discovered the most efficient way to catch fish without breaking a sweat. All in all, he lived like a caveman.

However, as his pregnancy progressed, his stomach became larger, and at one point, he found out that it was impossible for him to go hunting anymore. Since he brought some food from Konoha, he could survive on that, but that only lasted for a week.

Naruto knew the day to leave the cave—today—had had to come no matter how much he dreaded it. Today he needed to go to the Field village's town to get some supplies. Going to the village was not what he dreaded so much. In fact he felt a little happy to be with humans once more after spending almost two months alone.

The thing he dreaded was that he had to be in disguise, and since he had a very big stomach at the moment, the most appropriate disguise was to be a pregnant woman. Actually, Naruto had already predicted this, which was why he bought a dress. Yes, he didn't buy that dress for Kurenai-sensei but for himself.

Oiroke-no-jutsu could do the trick, but he didn't want to risk anything. He wanted to keep as low a profile as possible—even the smallest of blunders would ruin his plan. Moreover, he might have a lot of chakra to pull off the jutsu, but he didn't have lot of energy; he got tired really easily nowadays.

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At the town, the people on the road were staring at him. Naruto pretended that he didn't notice it—at least the stares were not of hatred. The villagers' stares were shocked stares. How could they not stare? Naruto was a one ugly, flat-chested, pregnant woman—like a cross-dresser gone wrong. Yet nobody dared to say anything; they just smiled when Naruto caught their eyes.

Pleased that the villagers didn't have any ill-intentions toward him, he made his way to the nearest grocery store. Quickly picking out what he needed, he paid the grocer and left as quickly as his heavy body would allow—which was not very quick at all. Finding an empty hallway on his way out of the town, he created three clones and commanded them to bring the goods back to the cave.

Creating those three clones almost left him breathless. He leaned on the walls nearby and stayed still for a while to catch his breath when he noticed somebody coming over to him.

"Are you alright? You look exhausted. Come, I can give you a drink. My stall is just nearby."

Naruto looked up to see a girl stretching out her hand to him, waiting for him to accept her invitation.

"Thanks."

When they reached the stall, the girl served him a glass of iced tea. It was bliss to Naruto, because it had been so long since he had drink something flavoured—a caveman didn't have flavoured drinks; they only had spring water.

"I have never seen you before. What's your name? I'm Kagura."

_My name?_

"Maki. My name is Maki."

"Mika-chan, then. How far long are you?"

"Huh?"

The girl named Kagura chuckled.

"I mean your pregnancy. How many months? I'm already three months along. I bet you couldn't guess."

"You are pregnant, too? I'm about three months, too. Yeah, I can't really tell you are pregnant. You are so small!"

"Yeah, and you are so big! I guess different people have different signs, eh?"

"Yeah, maybe, I guess. I don't really know. This is a whole new thing for me."

"Oh my God, you, too? This is my first, too, you know. This is just my luck. I've wanted to go to the delivery class for a while now, but the midwife won't hold that class for just one person. Do you want to go with me? Please, please. I'll treat to anything you want after that."

_Anything, she says?_

"Ramen?"

"Of course. My stall is a ramen stall, after all. Haven't you noticed?"

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The class went smoothly. The midwife was a nice old lady, and she patiently showed both soon-to-be young mothers how to breathe correctly during the delivery. Naruto felt silly doing something like this, but he was glad he came—at least he knew how to do that "push-push" thingy now. And Kagura was a nice pregnancy buddy, too.

After the class, they went back to the stall (while she was absent, Kagura's assistant had taken over), and Naruto got to eat as much ramen as he could. Kagura was just too happy to see Naruto eating like that—it showed that somebody liked her cooking. The new friends chatted the day away while Naruto inhaled his ramen.

When he got back to the cave, it was already starting to get dark. But Naruto didn't care; he was one satisfied pregnant man: He was full from the ramen, and he got some baby clothes from Kagura, too—she received too many from the villagers when they threw her a baby shower. He slept soundly that night, blissfully unaware of changes that were happening to his body.

The next morning, he went to the river as usual to take a bath, put up the fish trap, and wash clothes—he still managed to do all that, even though it was a bit difficult. He was scrubbing his body when he saw it. Unable to control his shock, Naruto screamed his lungs out and promptly fainted—butt-naked!

He was woken up by the sound of something bristling, which sounded very familiar. Naruto recalled that he always heard this sound when he faced the demon fox, and, as he thought, it was the Kyuubi. Usually when he was facing the demon fox, he always felt a little bit frightened, but not this time. Instead of being afraid, he was angry.

"What's the big idea, stupid fox? What's the meaning of this? You told me I was pregnant before; now you want me to be a woman? What is the t—thing under my—my belly? Where the hell that h—hole come from, huh?"

"That is where babies come from," the Kyuubi answered nonchalantly.

"You mean, I have a v—va…v—va…" Naruto couldn't say the word.

"Vagina. Yes. How else can you give birth? From your mouth? I know you are stupid, but I did not know you were this stupid." Kyuubi huffed, apparently put-out by Naruto's stupidity.

Naruto didn't know what to say. He knew he needed "something" to give birth, and he was thinking of cutting open his stomach to get the baby out. Looked like the Kyuubi already had its own way. The only thing was that the Kyuubi's way had shattered his manly pride completely—first he got pregnant, now he had a vagina? What kind of man would that make him?

He looked down in defeat. There was nothing he could do now to save his manly pride. He was officially a half-man now.

'Anything for you, baby,' he mused while rubbing his swollen stomach.

"Hey, Kyuubi," Naruto started, finally calm enough to ask the Kyuubi what he always wanted to ask. "How come I'm already this big when I'm only three months pregnant? Are you not telling me something? Don't tell me this baby is some kind of giant!"

"Stupid brat. Of course it's big; you will deliver in two months. That's normal."

"Two months? But it's supposed to be nine mo—"

"I told you not to compare me with humans! I'm different; the baby will be different. Get it right this time."

"Different? How different? Hey, Kyuubi, answer me. Hey, don't go! Hey!!"

But the Kyuubi already was retreating further into its cage. Holding a conversation with a human was not its favourite pastime, even if the human was his holder.

With a brush of one of the Kyuubi's tails, Naruto was sent back to consciousness just to find that the sun was already high, and he was naked on the riverbed. However he couldn't pay attention at his state of nudity, because he was more concerned with the news he had just heard from Kyuubi.

_How different? How different?! Damn that Kyuubi, always explaining things halfway like that!_

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Yo! Still reading this? Thank you!

Sorry for the lateness—it is really cold here. My fingers are almost frozen.

Okay, next chapter:

**Chapter 6 : Two fuzzy ears, four soft paws and… nine tails!**


	6. 2FurryEars,4SoftPawsn9Tails! Part1

Edited by Obscure Omen.

Disclaimer: Naruto is © to Kishimoto, a Japanese mangaka.

A SasuNaru story. A slow kind.

**Chapter 6: Two furry ears, four soft paws and… nine tails!**

The sky was clear and dark that night—with stars shining brightly—but Naruto, who was lying on the cave's floor, staring at the cave's roof, couldn't see that. He was occupied with the pain in his lower abdomen. Sweat drenched him like rain, and he felt hot all over his body; he had taken off all of his clothing a few minutes ago—meaning that he was lying naked on the ground, panting.

Under normal circumstances, this kind of situation would never happen, except maybe that one time with Sasuke. But Naruto couldn't care less right now—he was in a lot of pain, damnit! Since that afternoon, he had been having contractions, and they got worse every time. By that night, he couldn't even stand; that was why he was lying on the ground.

When Kurenai-sensei told him that her delivery was painful, Naruto imagined it must have been something like how one feels when one falls off a twenty-story building and survives. However, the pain he felt now was like falling off a twenty-story building, getting crushed by a 100 kg weight immediately after—falling from the same height—and surviving, with "surviving" being the keyword here.

The pain was indescribable, and it hurt like no other. If he really had to describe the pain right now, all he could say was that it felt like something was using its sharp claws to rip out his belly in an attempt to break free. Or maybe—God help him!—that was not just a feeling but rather that was what really happening right now. Damn, who knew what was really inside his belly—the stupid fox wouldn't tell.

If this continued for a couple more hours, he might not hold out anymore and die. Was he really going to die this way? Naruto's eyes glazed with tears when that thought went through his mind.

If he really were to die now, it would be a very pathetic scene to see; he was sprawled on the ground, naked, spotting strange body parts and a stomach bulging with an unborn child.

As a shinobi, the thought of dying was not what made his eyes glaze with tears.

No, that was not it.

The thought of him leaving the world didn't faze him anymore, but the thought of what he left in the world was what made him sad—he was quite certain other shinobi felt like this too; there were so many deaths surrounding them in this line of work, so death was just an occupational hazard.

If he were to die now, he probably would feel regretful rather than anything else.

Yes, regretful.

And he was sure he was not the only one, too. 'Cause, throughout his life, he saw it—the regret. In their eyes: during battle, during someone's last breath.

Most shinobi regretted it if they couldn't meet their loved ones before they died, and some people, like Sasuke—who held a deep grudge—regretted it when they died before avenging them.

But for Naruto—who didn't have a loved one and didn't really hold any deep grudges against anybody—his biggest regret was he didn't have his will prepared yet.

……

Right, that might sounds a tad bit ridiculous but…hey, different people, different perspectives, right?

Damn right!

Although he didn't have much to give, he had things that meant so much to him—like his sleeping cap, his hitaeate, his plants—and he wanted those things to mean _something_ to somebody after he was gone, too.

That was his way of making sure people would remember him, because unlike most people, Naruto didn't have any family or relatives to remember him. Sure, he had friends, but friends couldn't be compared to family.

So, if he gave them his precious things, at least they would remember him when they saw them. For a person who was ignored almost all of his life, he would like it for people to remember him after he died (for a change).

That was his only wish. Truly, he didn't ask for much.

A tear slid down a whiskered cheek. Naruto was about to wipe it away when a very sharp pain—which was centered at his bloated stomach—invaded his senses.

He threw his head back reflexively and let out a loud growl of pain. After a few minutes of taking deep breaths in an attempt to lessen the pain, he moved a badly shaking hand to touch his stomach to find it bleeding.

Bleeding. From a hole. On his stomach.

Naruto began to panic. He was pretty sure his stomach didn't have this kind of hole before. Then, where did this hole come from?

_Is it true that something is trying to come out from my stomach? By ripping it?_

Another sharp pain coursed through his body before he even had time to contemplate the answers to his own questions. This time, unable to contain his pain, Naruto screamed out loud—he could feel another hole being made in his stomach.

Naruto tried his hardest to sit up so that he could clearly see what was really happened to his stomach; the pain had stopped for now.

Just as he managed to sit up, he heard a rustling noise followed by a tap-tap sound—like something walking—near him. For once during this painful ordeal, Naruto let himself take in his surroundings.

He was very surprised to find out that he was surrounded by foxes. The foxes were careful to keep their distance from him while still being close enough to monitor his every movement.

To say that he was surprised was a poor description of how Naruto was feeling right now.

What the hell had those foxes come to this cave for? Was it a fox tradition to watch somebody give birth?

That thought gave Naruto a chill—that was some twisted tradition if it was true. Not only were the foxes were watching him intently—he knew they were watching because their red eyes were focused on him, not blinking—they were standing on their fore-legs, too.

Naruto would consider them cute any other time, but now they looked intimidating to him.

So when one of them moved forward in order to get closer to him, Naruto jerked violently and knocked a water container situated beside his bed—he always kept a water container nearby so that he didn't have to get up in the middle of the night to get a drink.

The water soaked the blanket and made contact with his heated skin. And Naruto was startled awake.

Opening his eyes, he scanned his surroundings in the dark using the moonlight as an assistant.

No foxes—just the normal, empty cave.

As if he just remembered, he quickly checked his stomach.

No bleeding, no holes, no anything.

_It was just a dream. That can't be true._ Naruto tried to calm his erratically beating heart.

He had had nightmares like this ever since the Kyuubi's off-handed news about his not-so-normal-soon-to-be-born child. Initially, it occurred only once a week, but lately he had that kind of dream almost every night.

Only that, on any other night, the nightmares didn't wake him up. This time it seemed so real for some reason, and if not for the water knocking incident, he would still believe it was true.

Naruto was a bit grateful for that incident, really, but when he felt the water had soaked further into the blanket, irritation seeped in.

Great, now he had to dry it out in the sun, and it would take a few days before the blankets could be use again—he could even feel the wetness in between his legs.

……

Wait, that didn't sound quite right. The water in the container couldn't soak this far down into his blankets.

But—but there really was something wet between his legs! Tentatively, he reached down his hand to touch the wetness.

_Uh-oh. I think I know what this is._

The panicked feeling came back.

_But what should I do now?_

That was when he felt the contraction. Naruto pinched himself to make sure this was not just another dream.

_Uh-uh. This is for real then. I'm going to… give birth._

Naruto counted to ten to calm himself. He must be calm in this situation, or he might kill himself in the process.

_Just do what the midwife said._ He tried to encourage himself—he realized that talking to himself sometimes helped him in handling difficult situations.

Another contraction hit him.

_Puh-puh. Puh-puh. Ergh!!_ Naruto tried to push the baby out.

_Okay, me. Try again. Push!! Erghh!! Again! Ergh!!_

Breathing hard, Naruto steadied himself using his elbows as anchors. Bending his head down, he looked between his legs to see the progress—he saw something!

Relaxing himself, Naruto tried to push again, this time with all his might because the labour process was starting to get really painful, and he would run out of energy eventually if he didn't hurry.

Maybe God took a pity on him, because with that last push, the baby came out fully—it came out with a momentum and skidded a few inches away from Naruto's legs.

Looking down at his legs, Naruto's eyes landed on his newborn baby.

Except that it was not a newborn baby.

It was a newborn fox cub.

He panicked for a total of two seconds and pinched himself again to confirm this was not a dream.

And it wasn't.

He cautiously bent his upper body to reach the cub, because by instinct that he felt now, if he didn't do something to the cub, it might die.

And, by any means, he couldn't let the cub die—he just gave birth to that thing and—and that was his child.

"My child," Naruto said softly, but it echoed loudly in his mind.

Without any more hesitation, he picked up his child to inspect it fully; the cub was cocooned in a transparent, jelly-like substance, which looked like a balloon with a thick white wall—it was about the size of a small baby, oval-looking and slippery.

That was why the labour had been easy for Naruto. Lucky guy.

Still guided by his instinct, Naruto picked up the kunai that he always hid under his pillow and quickly pierced through the balloon—giving the cub some air to breathe. After that, he carefully peeled off the remaining jelly from the small cub and dried the rest of it with a nearby blanket.

Astonished by the miracle before him, Naruto seemed to forget his pain and tiredness and raised the cub closer to his face—the cub was so small, Naruto could hold it in his palms.

As if it knew its mother was holding it, the cub turn its head unsteadily to come closer to the familiar warmth that its mother gave off.

Naruto brought the cub closer still to his face and sniffed the cub tentatively.

"This is my child," he said it out loud this time while touching the furry ears, stroking it gently. Carefully, he ran a finger along the spine—as gently as he could—beginning from its head to the start of its tails.

A bit shocked, Naruto pulled his finger away quickly.

"Nine tails!"

Naruto stared hard at the cub for awhile to take it all in.

"This is my child…. with furry ears, soft paws, a long nose, and nine tails," Naruto said to himself as if to convince himself all the while touching his child softly.

Taking a peek. "This is my son."

Naruto cried happy tears. His last sentence rang clear in his head because he knew, whatever or whoever it was—this wonderful creature that slept serenely on his palms—it was still his son.

And Naruto already loved it the moment he decided to keep it.

Naruto cried harder, the warm tears blinding his sight. He never felt like this before; the feelings of pure happiness and being scared shitless were so strong that he felt suffocated and contented at the same time.

Pure happiness for finally having his own family and one to call his own.

Scared shitless because he didn't know what would happened in the near future—could he protect his son? How should he raise it? What kind of parent would he be? And so many more insecurity issues.

But those thoughts he would deal with later. For now, he just wanted to savour this moment. Still stroking his son's head gently, Naruto brought it closer to his mouth and kissed it.

He smelled blood.

However, the blood smell this time was not a sign of injury or death or fighting or anything he ever associated with blood before.

The smell of blood this time was a sign of a new life—a new life for him to protect, to love, and to cherish.

The feeling of happiness was almost overwhelming for Naruto. Unable to control the overflowing emotions, he kissed his son on the head, the two furry ears, along the spine, on each of the nine tails, and on his soft paws, too.

Disturbed from his sleep—by all the kissing its mother had done—the cub lifted his head shakily as if to chastise the person. Naruto chuckled a little to his son's reaction. Deciding that he had enough of kissing his son—his son needed to sleep anyway—he brought the cub to his bosom to make it comfortable and helped it back to sleep.

A few minutes later, when the exhaustion finally settled in and his son was soundly asleep, he fell into a deep slumber himself—trusting his instincts as a mother to keep his child safe and comfortable while he was resting.

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His beloved alarm clock had always been his wake-up call for as long as he could remember—he had that thing since he was four years old. It was a present from the late Sandaime-sama.

One day, out of the blue, that old man had come to Naruto's house—personally, without his bodyguards. At first, Naruto was kind of wary towards the old man because of his mole and the ugly wrinkles on his forehead—Naruto might not confess to this, but he was afraid that the wrinkles would become alive and attack him.

But soon, Naruto warmed up to the nice old man, especially after he said he wanted to send Naruto to the Academy—and after he realized the wrinkles wouldn't harm him in any way! The old man also gave him an alarm clock—it crowed as its alarm!

"This is to make sure you will not be late for class," that old man had said.

"Thanks, ji-ji!" That was Naruto's first gift, and he treasured it with all his heart (that alarm clock definitely would be in his will).

But now that he left Konoha—and left that alarm clock behind—his wake-up call now was the sound of the rooster crowing. A _real _rooster crowing.

Every day, he was forced to wake up early—usually at the crack of dawn—by the rooster's crow. The first morning that he was rudely woken by the rooster, he had tried to ignore it by placing a pillow over his head and hoping that the rooster would stop soon. Unfortunately for him, the rooster didn't stop until the first ray of sunlight—sometimes even after that.

To put it simply, his first morning as a caveman was not very refreshing.

Then came the second morning, which totally a repeat of the first. But for that day, Naruto had prepared himself.

He got himself earplugs—two pieces of cotton, to be exact.

Nonetheless, that didn't work either—the cotton was too thin to block the noise.

By the third morning, he used a different method. At the first sound of the rooster crowing, Naruto picked up a nearby pebble and readied to attack. Remembering to bring a torch along with him, he crept out of the cave to hunt the rooster; he found it on a low branch of a nearby tree.

Throwing with ninja accuracy, Naruto was so sure he would hit the rooster with one try. But, for some twisted reason, that blasted rooster had excellent dodging skills. It escaped Naruto's pebbles every time with an ease that left Naruto fuming inside.

On the fourth morning, a trap was ready for the rooster on its favourite branch. Like before, this time Naruto was very confident he would get that blasted rooster and definitely would get back his beauty sleep. Yet, when he still rudely awakened by the cries of the rooster, he knew that the rooster had successfully avoided his trap. Surely, when he peeked outside to investigate, he could see the rooster standing proudly on a nearby rock instead of its favourite branch.

Naruto honestly didn't know how the rooster could escape, but that didn't mean he would give up.

Feeling that he couldn't lose to a mere wild rooster, Naruto was set to catch it himself with his own bare hands—no more underhanded methods. So, when the day came, he used his best abilities to track down that blasted rooster; he found it just five meters away from the cave, scratching the ground for food. With all the stealth he could muster, Naruto moved closer to the rooster and tried to catch it, only to end up falling face-first on the ground.

As if it could sense an impending danger coming its way, the rooster leapt away from Naruto seconds before Naruto made his move, which sparked a run-and-chase game between Naruto and the rooster.

However, when dusk approached and he still hadn't caught that rooster, Naruto gave up—he finally realized that if the rooster didn't want to be caught, it couldn't be caught.

In the end—if you can't kill it, befriend it, or so he had heard—he accepted the rooster's presence and its crowing with peace. And later he found the crowing to be a welcoming wake-up call—he could wake up early, start his day early, and go to bed early.

Thus that became his daily routine.

Which made today a little bit different.

Why?

Because today he was woken by something nibbling on his nipples instead of the crowing—a gesture that was way too intimate, in Naruto's opinion. He wanted to swipe it away, but for some reason he was too tired to even lift his hand. Rather, he opened his eyes and looked at his bosom.

And all of the memories from last night came flooding back. He was definitely not dreaming now; he was sure of that.

Because it was his son who was trying to nurse some milk from his breast.

Too stunned to do anything, Naruto just could only look. He stayed that way until the cub finished its food and went back to sleep.

Only after that did Naruto realize his conditions: His privates still bleeding from the labour, his body totally naked except for the blanket covering his chest.

Naruto picked up the cub gently—careful not to wake it up from sleep—and put it on his pillow; he needed to sit up to scrub the blood off of his legs, and it was impossible to do that with the cub sleeping on his chest.

Randomly seizing a nearby blanket, he started to clean himself—his lower region still felt tender and sensitive from the labour, but he knew that the Kyuubi had done its magic because he was not in pain anymore.

For a moment there, he couldn't recognize the noise; it was so soft that if he didn't have ninja alert senses, he wouldn't have heard it at all.

It was a whimpering sound.

And that sound was coming from his pillow.

Well, not really his pillow. That sound was coming from his son, who was lying on the pillow.

Moving as fast as he could without hurting himself, he picked the cub back up, and immediately it stopped whimpering.

To test, he put back the cub on the pillow to see if it would start whimpering again.

It did.

Naruto fidgeted. Okay, now he didn't know what to do. How he was supposed to move if he had to hold his son all the time?

"There, there, sweetie. I'm right here. I'm not gonna leave you."

That was his first time comforting someone—he felt awkward doing it—but he had to try. Moreover, he had a premonition that he would have to do more comforting in the future.

But, to his horror, not only did his son not stop whimpering, but now it was making some kind of distressed sound.

_Did I do something wrong? _Naruto began to panic slightly.

He tried patting his son's head; it didn't work.

Kissing his head—also didn't work.

For a lack of better things to do, he brought the cub back to his bosom, attempting to cuddle him.

The cub, sensing its mother warm milk nearby, nuzzled closer, and when it finally got the nipple, it calmed down.

Naruto smiled in relief.

_That was easy._

His first lesson handling his child: Success.

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Yo! It's been a long time. So sorry; I've been busy like hell.

This chapter isn't finished yet; this is part one, since I figure it will take a while for me to edit the rest of chapter six, so I posted this first.

Many might be disappointed by this chapter because it is a bad one. I kinda lost my self-confidence in writing this.

But don't worry: I'll try again.

Jaa, happy reading—I'm still working on this chapter (it's in my notebook, actually).


	7. 2FurryEars,4SoftPawsn9Tails! Part2

Edited by Obscure Omen

Disclaimer: Naruto is © to Kishimoto, a Japanese mangaka.

A SasuNaru story. A slow kind.

Wow, what a response—and a very mix response, at that! This would never have happened if I didn't post chapter six separately.

You guys will find the rest of this chapter is actually different from what you think (or it will be exactly what you think).

Excerpt from part 1:

_The cub, sensing its mother's warm milk nearby, nuzzled closer, and when it finally got the nipple, it calmed down._

_Naruto smiled in relief._

_That was easy._

_His first lesson in handling his child: Success._

**Chapter 6: 2 furry ears, 4 soft paws and..9 tails! Part 2**

After a while, his hand had begun to numb, but his son was still eating his food—he couldn't possibly put the baby down, or he would start whimpering again. Hoping for inspiration, Naruto looked around him.

And inspiration he got.

Picking up an abandoned bandage, he wrapped it around his torso loosely with the cub trapped between his chest and the bandage, kinda like a kangaroo pouch, but not exactly. Sensing no protest from his son, Naruto beamed to himself. Now he could move freely with his son secured to his bosom.

Satisfied with that, he started to clean himself again all the while massaging his already numb legs—he really needed to stand up, or the blood cycle in his legs wouldn't flow normally.

So slowly he stood up and put on a loose pair of pants; he decided to go shirtless for now so he wouldn't suffocate his son. With all the strength that he could muster, Naruto went to the fireplace to throw in some more wood, seeing that the fire had started to fade.

It had finally dark again by the time Naruto had finished cleaning himself and his cub thoroughly, made something simple to eat, and put aside the wet blankets—to manage to do all that right after giving birth was quite an achievement, although it took Naruto almost all day to complete the tasks.

When he was finally finished, he couldn't even lift his tired eyelids anymore; he was grateful his son didn't make any more distressed sounds, which meant he could sleep peacefully. Settling in for the night, the mother-and-son pair fell asleep together.

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Naruto's routine was slightly changed after his labour. Before, he usually woke up when the rooster crowed, but now he couldn't even hear it because he was so tired—healing and managing himself with his son strapped to his chest took almost all of his energy.

Now he only woke up when he felt his son bite his nipple a little too hard when feeding.

When he finally decided to wake up, he would clean himself first—he was still bleeding from the labour—clean his son, boil water for ramen, eat his breakfast, and go back to sleep. He would wake up again when the day had begun to turn dark to throw firewood on the bonfire and eat dinner. After that, he promptly went back to sleep.

And the cycle went on for almost four days.

On the fourth day, he felt incredulously energetic. Deciding that today was the day he should face the day again, Naruto stepped out of the cave.

The sky was blue, the sun was shining, birds were chirping, the grass looked so very green, squirrels were running about, and he could hear the river stream nearby.

All was right in the world again.

"Ahhhhhhhhh….." he let out a contented sigh. "This is perfect." He was not in pain anymore, the bleeding had stopped, he felt energized, and his son was comfortably sleeping on his chest.

Nothing could be more perfect to him than this moment in time.

Well, maybe if his body changed back to normal—as in he got to loose the v-thing and his breasts. Wait, not the breasts, only the v-thing. His son still needed his milk, so he needed the breasts.

_What an embarrassing thought_. Naruto blushed heatedly. Shaking his head to get that thought out of his head, Naruto made up his mind.

_Whaaaaaaatever! If the body parts are going to stay, they are going to stay. If they are not, they won't. I don't care anymore. Like I can do anything about it._

Not letting that thought bring down his brilliant mood, Naruto inhaled deeply and exhaled loudly, letting out the heavy burden he felt almost six months ago.

He grinned stupidly, lightly skipping to the riverbed; he wanted to take a bath—a real bath—and take a look at his fish trap. If he was lucky, he could have grilled fish for dinner.

Upon arriving, he could see the trap was full of fish.

Life was just peachy.

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On the tenth day, there was a surprise waiting for Naruto.

He was sleeping soundly as usual—it was still early, and even the rooster hadn't started crowing yet—when he felt something crawling on his face.

Immediately, he opened his eyes and was surprised to see that there was a cute, wet snout directly in front of his eyes. Then, there were eyes.

Black-jet, diamond-like eyes, looking curiously at him, albeit being slightly unfocused.

His heart skipped a beat.

_Does he recognize me?_

He waited with bated breath for his son's next action. However, the cub didn't move an inch; he just looked at Naruto so intensely that it was like he was trying to memorize the face in front of him, and that made Naruto understand.

_Ah… So he does know me._

His son recognized him and was trying to imprint his image in his tiny head.

Naruto picked up the cub from his face gently—he felt dizzy watching him from such a very close distance right before his eyes—and put it on his palm.

Tenderly, he kissed the baby, who was now nudging insistently on his finger—with his new eyesight, he found the moving fingers very exciting.

"I know now. I'll call you Ryu for Ryuunosuke. Uzumaki Ryuunosuke." Naruto announced loudly as if the cub could understand him.

He kissed Ryu again.

Ahhh…. It felt good to call his son by his name. Naruto had been contemplating his son's name for so long that he felt relieved to finally have decided on it after he saw Ryu's black eyes.

Those black eyes just reminded him of dragons that he always read about in Chinese legends.**(1)**

And he thought that a dragon's spirit just fit his son perfectly, hopefully.

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A week went by with nothing much happening. Even though Ryu-chan had fully developed all his senses, like all other fox kits, he just ate and slept the days away. Occasionally, when he was awake, he would try to move, but he was too weak to do that. All that he could do was lift his head, look around himself—taking in his surroundings—and, if he wanted his mother's attention, he would nudge Naruto insistently with his snout.

But by 14 days, Ryu had gained enough strength to move a little by rolling about his body. This, however, almost made Naruto have a heart attack, because the first time Ryu tried his rolling stunt, he almost dropped off from Naruto's torso. (Naruto had been lying on the blanket, so he let Ryu move freely on his torso).

Since now he had the ability to move around, Ryu was restless when he was put into the bandage "pouch," so Naruto often put him on the pillow instead. Ryu would happily play around on the pillow with himself or, if present, his mother's fingers.

Roll, roll, tumble. Roll, roll, tumble—the cub did it constantly.

Every now and then, Naruto would poke the cub so that he rolled back when he was dangerously close to the edge of the pillow.

When the cub was tired of playing, he would whimper and make this "yip-yip" sound to announce that he was hungry and sleepy. Already familiar with his son's signal, Naruto would easily pick him up and take him back to his bosom for feeding.

And the cub would once again resume his sleep after he was full.

The rolling and tumbling went on for few more days. Along the way, Ryu had learned to clean himself. It was still funny for Naruto to watch his son cleaning all of his nine tails and becoming frustrated when Naruto touched him when he was in the cleaning process—he would hiss and puff out his tails to show his frustration.

Only when he was three weeks old did Ryu start to take his baby steps. Naruto watched in wonder when his son tried to walk with his shaky legs on the fluffy pillow and fell, unsuccessful, every time—the soft pillow just couldn't support him properly.

Taking pity on his son, Naruto put him on the blanket instead, which had a firmer surface than the fluffy pillow.

Ryu lifted his head to look at his mother. Taking a tentative sniff of his mother's smell, he tried walking towards Naruto. After a few difficult steps, he managed to reach Naruto's leg and promptly nudged it with his snout, whimpering slightly as if to tell his mother that he had just finished a tough job and now was tired—he wanted to eat and sleep.

Naruto just laughed at his son's antics and gave him exactly what he wanted: milk and a warm spot to sleep.

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It was a great joy for Naruto to see his son growing gradually before his very eyes. From the day he gave birth until now--Ryu-chan was already a month old today—he never left the cave without his son, which meant that he rarely left the cave. Since he had not gone out hunting as before, his source of food was from the fish and animal traps that his clones set up. It was not that he couldn't go hunting—he had already healed completely—but he was afraid to leave his son alone or bring him to go hunting.

He would rather stay in the cave, watching his son play or meditating; meditating was his alternative method of training.

However, since his son had learned to walk, that little fox had tried countless times to escape his guard to play outside; that cub was too curious for his own good. And now that he was a month old, he was getting more anxious of the outside world, which in turn made him more eager to escape Naruto's guard.

Every time Naruto caught him, he would protest by producing a distressed "yip-yip" sound and trying to bite Naruto's hand.

And every time, Naruto would only kiss him on the head and promise his son that he would take him out when he was a little bigger.

If only Naruto was not a ninja, then that cub could've already escaped. But foxes were quite cunning creatures by nature. So, ninja or not, without Naruto knowing, Ryu finally got his freedom.

That morning was not like any other morning—it was more noon than morning, actually, since the sun was already high. Naruto woke up late because he was tired from the activities the day before; he had had to carry gallons of water from the river to the cave, back and forth, for his reserves. After stretching a bit, he bent his head to give a kiss to his son as usual, only to find the spot that his son always occupied to be empty.

As quick as his ninja reflexes allowed, he sprung to his feet, in search of his son. But what he found was not what he expected at all.

There, out in the open, on the green grass, was his son, rolling around happily. At times, he stopped rolling just to catch his own tails. **(2)**

It was such a truly fascinating scene to see that Naruto forgot about his earlier panicked state. And he was not the only one that thought the scene was fascinating. The rooster was also rooted to the spot, watching.

The cub yipped to the rooster while rolling around, and the rooster crowed back as an answer. It was like they were having a conversation with each other.

_Ah…I get it. He's trying to make friends. And with that blasted rooster, no less._

Naruto sighed. He gave up. He might as well let his son play outside, or else he would sneak around like this again.

So, from that day onwards, the two—three, if one included the rooster, who always tagged along—could be spotted roaming around the forest.

Naruto did as best as he could as a human-parent to teach his animal-son the way of living.

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At four months old, Ryu had become as big as a normal cat, and he had long stopped drinking milk from his mother—he could even hunt for himself! Although Naruto insisted on hunting together, Ryu would try every trick he knew to go by himself or with his best friend—the rooster.

He wanted to be independent, but his mother refused to understand that.

Naruto knew Ryu tried to be independent, but Ryu didn't understand that he was undergoing some changes.

At first, Naruto was worried sick that his son might have contracted some deadly disease when he noticed that Ryu's fur was falling out. But then, after some time, he also noticed that Ryu's feature looked more human. He was rapidly losing the fur on his back and on his front.

By the time he reached six months old, he looked exactly like a human-child, except for his furry ears and nine tails. If before he could climb a tree like an expert, now he was back to crawling on all fours—like a normal child, just more hyper and with nine bushy tails!

He had taken a human form little by little. Now, he had a human face with a cute, button nose, black hair, black eyes, and chubby legs and arms.

In other words, Ryu was cute beyond words.

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Naruto hadn't expected Ryu to be able to speak a human language, since he was a fox at birth, so Naruto was thrown another surprise when Ryu uttered his first word.

"Da," Ryu said.

"Huh? Say that again, Ryu."

"Da." A short pause. Then: "Dada. Dada. Dada." The half-boy chuckled happily at his accomplishment.

"Yes! That's right. I'm your Dada. Dada." Naruto pointed to himself. "Ryu." He touched the boy's nose.

"Dada. Dada. Dada," was Ryu's chirpy reply.

Naruto laughed. He would teach his son other words next time—he was already content with Ryu's first word, although he didn't have any idea where the boy got it from.

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Ryu's second word came shortly after. He was playing with his best friend when he called the rooster "Kuku."**(3)**

"Kuku. Kuku. Kuku. Kuku," Ryu shouted to the world while trying to imitate the rooster's flapping motions.

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The months flew by too quickly—and soon the time period that Tsunade had given him was up. Naruto realized that he needed to go back to Konoha, or else he and his son would have to be refugees.

As a parent, he didn't want that to happen to his son. So the best option he could take was to return to Konoha.

As Naruto looked at his son, who was busy painting the cave wall with pictures, he thought of how lucky it was that his son had fully transformed into a human; Ryu had lost his fox ears and tails.

Now, he really looked like a normal child.

"Ryu, come here to Dada." Naruto made a motion with his hands. Ryu turned his head disinterestedly, seeming to consider his father's command. Rising slowly from his sitting position, Ryu made his way—still walking shakily—to the waiting arms of his father.

"Ryu, Dada wants to bring you to meet someone. She's the one who gave you these clothes and shoes. Do you want to go?" Naruto said, pointing to the clothes and shoes accordingly.

"Go! Go!" Ryu repeated his father's word.

"Okay, let's go then."

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"What do you mean, she's not here anymore? Did she move to another village? What about her ramen shop?" Naruto bombarded the new shop owner with questions. He was exasperated when he was told Kagura-chan was nowhere to be found.

"Err… Excuse me, sir, but are you a relative?"

"Eh… No. I'm her friend."

_Her pregnant buddy, to be exact._

"Well, I don't want to be the one who tell you this bad news, but…Kagura-chan passed away almost ten months ago."

"Passed away? I—I don't know what to say. I never thought she would..."

"Yeah, we didn't, either. She was so excited about her pregnancy, too. That poor child… She took her husband's death so badly that she miscarriaged."

_Miscarriage?_

"Miscarriage? But she was healthy when I last saw her."

"I guess her depression affected her health."

_Oh._

"Oh. Err... Thank you for telling me. I think I better be going now."

"No problem, young man. Here, take this onigiri. Your child looks very hungry. He has been eyeing the onigiri for awhile." The shop man ended his speech with a laugh.

"Thank you. He's probably hungry. Here, Ryu. Onigiri."

"Giri, giri!" Ryu excitedly put the exciting-looking food into his mouth.

"Is it that good?"

"Hmm… Good. Good. Dada, giri good."

"What a bright child you have here. Do you want to come into my shop? I can give you some more onigiri."

"Ahhh… Thank you, but we have a long journey ahead of us. It's better if we start early."

"Where are you two heading?"

"Konoha."

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(1) If I'm not mistaken, Ryu means dragon. Ryu's eyes reminded Naruto of dragon so he named his son as Ryu.

(2) That is called charming. Foxes do that to attract attention. So cute!

(3) Kuku is a phonetic sound of Cuckoo. Ryu made that sounds because he heard the rooster crowed so he tried to imitate it.

Okay, that's the end of chapter six. Very long, if I say so myself.

Well, I hope everybody enjoyed this.

Sasuke will make an appearance in the next chapter.

Next chapter:

**Chapter 7: Sss… Sasuke the Sexy Seducer**


	8. SSSSasuke the Sexy Seducer

Edited by Obscure Omen.

Disclaimer: Naruto is © to Kishimoto, a Japanese mangaka.

A SasuNaru story. A slow kind.

I don't know what you guys hope to read in this chapter, but please don't be disappointed. All that happens in this chapter does for a reason.

Still, enjoy!

**Chapter 7 : Sss…Sasuke the Sexy Seducer**

His mind was blank, but that was okay, he thought. Mostly because, since his mind had not been blank for a very long time, he could appreciate the atmosphere around him: He could hear his own footsteps making squelching sounds whenever he took a step, feel the wetness of the ever-damp grass around his open sandals, and, when he looked up, he could see canopies of leaves that shadowed his presence.

Heck, he could even smell his own body odor: sweat mixed with blood and burnt ashes.

Of course, being a ninja, he rarely missed those little details; he always had to remind himself not to make a sound while walking—so no squelching sounds, since he knew the grass was always wet—even during the day when it was as hot as hell, and he was always, if not constantly, lurking around trees' shadows to conceal himself.

Before, he just acknowledged it all. Now, he appreciated it. If he was a Buddhist, maybe he could say he reached Enlightenment—he felt just like that!

But his mind being blank was good in other ways, too, he thought. Because, when his mind was blank like this, his head was empty of murderous thoughts, self-depreciation, revenge, and other dark thoughts.

This way, he felt free and light, and he swore that if he flapped his arms, he might just fly to the sky.

_Yeah..._ his blank mind reminded him, _I am free now._

The smell of the burnt ashes also reminded him of that fact, that he had killed the guy who had haunted his mind for so long—he had burned him and his partner to ashes using his fire jutsu.

He let out a tiny, satisfied smirk and promptly looked at the sky to hide it from cautious eyes around him—his subordinates might ask questions if they saw him, and he hated answering them.

_Hn. It's going to get dark soon. Better find a place to stay for the night._

As much as he wanted to stay in that blissful state of blankness, his survival instinct still kicked in. As an experienced traveler, he knew that the forest would be engulfed in darkness in a couple more hours—if the shadows of the trees were any indication, dusk was approaching.

And, judging from the way the wind blew, he knew there was a river nearby and started to head that way. He did not bother telling his subordinates he was changing direction, because even if he didn't tell them where he was going, they would still follow him faithfully.

Chancing a look behind him only proved him right—his subordinates were right behind him, although two of them were bickering back and forth. If he was not mistaken—and he rarely made mistakes—they had been like that since after they left the battleground.

_Hn. Even worse than me and Naruto._

Sasuke froze for a nanosecond when that thought crossed his mind, shook his head, and resumed walking; if Juugo, Karin, or Suigetsu noticed his odd behavoiur, they didn't utter a word.

Sasuke had classified Naruto as a restricted subject in his mind after he left Konoha. Naruto made him feel guilty, made him feel that somebody cared about him, made him feel emotion—all the things that he didn't want to feel during his quest for revenge.

Yet, after his goal had been reached, Naruto was still a restricted subject, especially after their last encounter. Their last encounter was simply… awkward.

To see a demon container drained of chakra was one thing, but to get intimate with that said demon container who also was one's best friend—wait, scratch that, ex-best friend—was just plain awkward! And embarrassing, too!

Sasuke finger-combed his hair in agitation and muttered "usuratonkachi" under his breath—both actions showing his uncomfortable state.

He should have expected something like this would happen when that idiot was around him, because somehow, in an unknown, twisted way, although he would rather kill himself than admit it out loud, Naruto always, always got his "first."

Sasuke's first best friend.

Sasuke's first near-death experience—he had wanted to save Naruto at that time.

Sasuke's first kiss.

And…

Sasuke groaned at this point.

Sasuke's first sexual experience.

What was the next "first" that idiot would steal from him?

His first-born?

_As if._

Sasuke scoffed, quickly dismissing the idea.

Poor Sasuke, if he only knew.

XxxxxxxxxxX

When they reached the riverside, all the unwanted thoughts about Naruto, his idiocy, and his tendency to create trouble had vanished from Sasuke's mind. He was quite pleased to see that the river's water was clear and cool to the touch—just the thing he needed to wash his body from the smell of ashes; he didn't need a reminder of his brother lingering on his body.

Also to his relief, Karin and Suigetsu had stopped bickering; they seemed to be assessing the area around them—Sasuke just waited for one of them to offer their opinion.

"I think," Suigetsu broke the silence first, "this is a good place to stop. We can set up a fire just a couple of meters from here; it will be too cold at night if we sleep too near to the river," he continued, looking at Sasuke for some kind of permission.

Sasuke gave a silent nod, indicating that he agreed to that idea.

Whooping for joy, Suigetsu offered to catch some fish—he was too happy to swim after so long. Just like the popular saying went, long time no sea. Or river. Same difference.

Juugo offered to collect firewood, and Karin was just happy to go with him rather than watch Suigetsu in his happy state—it just made her irritated.

Sasuke never said a word during these interactions—he just nodded his head or shrugged his shoulders as answers. He was glad his subordinates took their own initiatives to help so that he didn't have to give them orders.

He never liked giving orders to them, except in battles, because, to him, he didn't feel that he was their leader, especially now that his reason for having them around was no longer valid.

In other words, he didn't need them anymore—they could go their own separate ways now.

Well, he would tell them about that after they ate tonight. Now, he would set up a small fire near their camp and join Suigetsu in the river.

He picked a place further up the river, away from Suigetsu, for a little privacy; he had to discard all his clothes to bath properly—he needed to wash the clothes, too—and, if one couldn't guess, he was naked.

Away from other people and in his own little bubble of privacy, he allowed himself to examine himself. He could see his… face in the clear water. If he was being true to himself, he was quite shocked to see the image, because the face that he saw in the water was a little more mature than he originally thought.

It was such a long time since he looked at himself properly; he almost forgot what he looked like. To his chagrin, he looked like his brother.

No kidding.

And, he wondered, if he could make a girl fall in love with him when he looked like Itachi. Because to him, if he were a girl, he would never fall in love with that bastard. That creepy looking bastard.

Who would want to get close to that bastard, anyway?

Sasuke scoffed. On that note, he had never seen Itachi with any girl before. That showed how unpopular Itachi was.

Then, if he looked like Itachi, did that mean he would be unpopular, too? So how would he make the girls fall for him?

Sasuke's self-confidence was getting low.

He was sure his father was unpopular with girls, too. His father had a down-turned mouth, for God's sakes! Even under normal circumstances, he looked like he was frowning, and what's attractive about frowning?

Nothing!

His father was just super-lucky to get his mother for his wife. To get a beautiful woman like his mother to be his wife, it must have been an arrange marriage between families. He couldn't believe that his father won his mother's heart by himself.

Sasuke self-confidence was getting lower.

To comfort himself, he recalled that he was popular with girls back in Konoha. Almost every girl wanted to be with him.

Sasuke let out a smirk; his self-confidence inflated a bit.

_But that was before you looked like Itachi. _a small voice reminded him.

Just with that, his self-confidence was back to its low state.

_So, how can I get girls?_

Sasuke put his head underwater to drown his frustration—literally.

It must have been weird to see Sasuke contemplating about picking up girls. But don't get him wrong; the thoughts about picking up girls emerged not because Sasuke had turned into a pervert or was sexually deprived.

It just occurred to Sasuke when he was washing his clothes—the one with the Uchiha symbol on it—that he, in fact, had another goal to fulfill.

That was to rebuild his clan.

And, from his clever deduction, the first thing he had to do to achieve that goal was to find a girl to be his wife or his baby factory. Either title worked.

But, for a very stupid reason, he didn't think he was attractive enough to convince a girl to be his wife.

First, he didn't think he was handsome. If he looked like Itachi or his father, he definitely didn't consider himself handsome. He refused to think he looked like his mother, because that was just saying he looked girlish. Sasuke was anything but girlish.

Second, he was an anti-social person. He didn't like to talk to people beyond a "Hn," unless it was completely necessary. He didn't do small talks. So, it was kinda impossible to impress a girl if he couldn't talk properly… Right?

Thirdly, he was rather shy around girls actually, because, let's face it, the only girls he ever interacted in his life, ever, were Sakura and Karin. Even if sometimes people mistook Orochimaru for a woman because of his ridiculously long, silky hair, Orochimaru was definitely not a woman. Sasuke knew because they once bathed in an onsen. Together. Needless to say, Sasuke knew he was a man.

Sasuke stopped drowning himself in the river when he felt someone was watching him. Wiping off water from his face, he could see Karin ogling him from the riverbed.

Again.

Sasuke kinda suspected that Karin might like him or something, but Karin liking him didn't make him feel attractive.

Karin was weird, and her being with Orochimaru—even longer than Sasuke—must have had something to do with it.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

For dinner, they sat around the fire with big logs as seats. Except for bickering between Suigetsu and Karin, they ate the smoked fish in peace.

So, when Sasuke said the most they had ever heard him say, all of them fell silent.

"Listen, I'm gonna go my own way after this. I don't have anything to do with any of you anymore. Do whatever you want to do. This is where we end. I… err… appreciate your cooperation."

Then, he also went silent, like he had never given the bomb-dropping news.

As usual after a long silence, it was Suigetsu who spoke first. "Sure, I already got what I want." He lifted the big sword that he got from Kisame. "I'll go my own way tomorrow, too."

"Wanna go with me?" Suigetsu asked Juugo, who was silently contemplating his choices.

"Sure," Juugo answered without hesitation; he didn't know any other people, so he'd better stick to people that he knew.

Suigetsu turned to Karin.

"Like hell am I going to follow you. I don't want to smell like fish for the rest of my life!"

Suigetsu looked like he wanted to retort with something bitter but held himself and said, "Suit yourself."

After that, they proceeded to go to sleep.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sasuke had left the camp site a good two hours ago now. Just like they said last night, Suigetsu and Juugo took their own separate way.

The problem now was Karin. For the last two hours, she was trailing behind Sasuke discreetly. At first, Sasuke tried to ignore this; she might just be on the same path with him, but when he stopped to pee and she was there, he knew she was following him.

Without any warning, Sasuke stopped and looked behind him.

"What do you want?" he growled.

Took in by surprise, Karin almost fell down from the tree she was perched in. When she was face to face with Sasuke, she giggled nervously.

"I don't know where to go," she said, looking timidly at Sasuke's face; even with the scowl etched on his face, Karin still felt that he was handsome.

When no response came from Sasuke, she continued, "I don't know where to go," she emphasized, "so I thought I'd just follow you."

Working up the nerves, she took a deep breath and confessed to Sasuke, "I like you, Sasuke-kun! Please let me be with you."

Sasuke just looked at her in disinterest, turned back to his original direction, and sped up.

Karin trailed behind.

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For three days, Sasuke traveled across the forest to find a village; Karin was still following him. However, he never acknowledged her presence until the third day.

He had been doing a lot of thinking in the last three days. If he was to find a girl to marry, why didn't he just go with the one that at least he knew?

Example? Karin.

She might be weird but she was… okay. They were both ninjas, so that was a good point—they understood each other's profession.

She was also strong for a girl, not too ugly or beautiful, with an okay figure.

All in all, she was okay.

Sasuke stopped in his tracks and waited for Karin to approach him. When she was in a hearing distance, he said, "Okay."

"What?" Karin was confused, but Sasuke didn't seem like he wanted to explain.

Karin made a confused face for a moment, trying to understand what this man-with-such-a-small-vocabulary-that-even-a-two-year-old's-was-bigger was talking about when it finally dawned on her.

Sasuke was allowing her to be by his side.

She jumped in joy and hugged Sasuke; he flinched but didn't push her away.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

So, they lived together from that moment on. Both of them decided that they just should stay in the forest rather than live in a village—fewer complications.

The first night they had sex, Sasuke felt that the act of sex was overrated. He didn't feel particularly amazing during sex—just a little bit of excitement when he ejaculated. Karin, on the other hand, felt like she was a cat that got the canary.

Sasuke blamed this on his emotionally stunted state; he was without feelings for so long—except the dark ones—that he didn't particularly care anymore.

That was one of the reason he allowed himself to be with Karin even though he didn't love her or anything. As long as she could carry his child, he was happy enough.

It was a depressing thought, but he preferred to face reality—he might not know how to love again.

But at least he learned a bit from Karin about what women like and dislike. Actually, it was more like Karin complaining it to him.

"You should smile more often, Sasuke-kun. I've never seen you smile, but I bet if you smiled, the girls would fall at your feet."

Sasuke just looked at her weirdly.

"You know, why don't you bring flowers to me once in a while? Girls like that."

Sasuke just ignored her like she never spoke.

"Can you tell me I'm beautiful for once? It would mean a lot to me." Karin tried to look cute by fluttering her eyelashes.

Sasuke just looked the other way.

"Hey, girls don't like it if they are ignored!" Karin said one day, exasperated.

"Hn," was Sasuke's only reply.

And life went on.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Six weeks after they were together and Karin was five weeks pregnant. Sasuke was excited; in another eight months, his second goal would be almost complete.

Alas, when Karin was almost two months pregnant, she had a miscarriage and died. It was a severe hemorrhage; even the medical knowledge he learned from Kabuto couldn't help the situation.

He buried the body and moved on.

For him it was just another chapter in his life.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

For almost two years, Sasuke went in and out of villages, seducing girls and making them pregnant. Well, he was not actually seducing anybody; he was just sexy by himself—only he didn't know that. He just had to smile, and, like Karin had said, all the girls fell for him.

The second girl that he impregnated he planned on marrying. Sasuke was a man of honour—Uchiha clan was very strict about this sort of thing. They even got engaged when she told him that she was pregnant with his child. But, like Karin, she had a miscarriage and died because of a severe hemorrhage before they could get married.

Sasuke really didn't suspect anything until after the fifth girl, which was when he began to make up a theory. There must be something wrong with the fetus/embryo that made their carriers suffer severe hemorrhaging—all of them died when they reached about two months of pregnancy.

And he thought it must have something to do with his bloodlines or Orochimaru's curse. Even though that guy had died, the curse was still functioning—but since he was stronger now, the curse was under control.

But still, combination of those two must be fatal.

So, Sasuke changed his tactic. Before, he went for anyone that wanted him. Now he just chose girls with strong bloodlines.

The results were still the same. They all died—Sasuke had even stopped making plans of commitment after the third girl.

He didn't know how many villages he had visited for this. Truly, he was a bit shocked that he didn't meet any people that knew him. This was maybe because he avoided hidden villages. He just went to civilian villages, where they didn't know much about him; the name Uchiha was very popular, so even civilians might recognize the name, but they didn't know the gory details.

Aside from shock, he was also a bit disappointed that Naruto or Sakura or Kakashi didn't turn up at all. He assumed they had given up on him, and he got sad for awhile before thinking that their giving up on him was a good thing.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Many women later, Sasuke got tired of moving around, and if he was being honest, he was actually very worried. Because, after so many trials, he still didn't have a heir, and there were a lot of deaths involved. He couldn't do this anymore—even he was not that mean; those women were innocent.

He was worried enough to make the decision to return to Konoha to get treatment from the best medical ninja to ever grace the ninja world: Tsunade-sama.

Because right now, the great Uchiha Sasuke needed help with a fertility problem.

Hmm, how ironic was that?

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Right. This is supposed to be an interlude, so it's short. I'm sorry if it's crappy (I just realized this is the worst chapter )—I don't want to expand on Sasuke's "adventure" too much.

Take a guess whether Sasuke and Naruto met in the next chapter or not by the next chapter title:

**Chapter 8: Dada, Ryu find Kuku!**

PS: I might edit this chapter later. I think I forget to put in stg.


	9. Dada, Ryu find Kuku!

**Edited by Obscure Omen**

Disclaimer: Naruto is © to Kishimoto, a Japanese mangaka.

A SasuNaru story. A slow kind.

Yo! I think a lot of people were disappointed with the last chapter; sorry?

Well, no turning back now.

**Chapter 8: Dada, Ryu find Kuku!****  
**

After two days of walking from the last village that he visited, Sasuke was back.

Konoha was exactly like Sasuke always imagined it. Even after almost seven years of absence, nothing had changed—at least the main gate hadn't changed; he had yet to see inside the village.

He was home; something stirred in his heart from that. He never had planned to come back again, no matter how strongly Naruto said otherwise. He had never considered Konoha as his home anymore after their episode at the Valley of the End, when he almost killed his ex-best friend. That was the point of no return for Sasuke. He had betrayed Naruto, and that was as good as betraying the whole village.

Thus, he vowed he would never come back again.

But here he was, at Konoha's gate, swallowing his pride to seek for help from the village he once betrayed. He was really angry at himself for being this pathetic, and his pride almost made him change direction.

Yet, his rational mind—pride and nasty feelings aside—made him stick to his decision.

Well, what else could he do?

He had tried everything in his ability to accomplish his goal.

And what did he gain from that?

A big pile of nothing. Except for dead bodies.

And fuck that! Who wants dead bodies, anyway? Those things were depressing.

Although Sasuke was not an affectionate person, he was not totally heartless either. Those deaths only made him feel guilty—he felt like he was some kind of serial killer or something.

He swore to God, he hadn't meant for anything like that to happen. Heck, how he was supposed to know that his intention to create babies would result in death? He was not a clairvoyant; he was just an innocent ninja, who tried to carry out his duty for his clan.

Honestly, he was innocent. His intentions were pure. He was just trying to have cute, little Uchiha babies; he would even marry the one who could bear his children. It was that simple.

But Sasuke should have known better than that. His life would never be simple. There would always be this and that; his life had more drama than a soap opera! Nothing in his life came easily. On the contrary, everything was hard on him.

If there were ever a contest for the "Person with the Most Screwed-Up Life" he would probably win easily. Because, let's see, nobody else had ever had their whole freaking clan killed.

Of course, Sasuke had.

Next, nobody else had ever had to grow up hating one brother and having to kill said brother later in life.

Sasuke had—it was one of his life-goals, in fact.

And the ultimate bomb was that nobody—_nobody_—had ever killed women simply because they bedded them.

Oh yeah, Sasuke—the lady killer—had.

When he thought about that, he felt the urge to bang his head on the nearest available tree.

His luck was so bad that it wasn't even funny. For some time now, he had begun to think this was not just bad luck, but maybe a kind of punishment from God. He didn't know what warranted this punishment, but only God knew how horrible his life was after he killed Itachi.

But, don't get him wrong. Killing Itachi was not what made him feel horrible: being with the women was what made him horrible.

It was a sad thing, really; he didn't even remember their faces anymore. The sex was not a plus point, either. It was true that he was no expert in that field, thus he couldn't really tell whether the sex was good or not, but at least he could tell this: He felt empty during it—no spark whatsoever.

His disturbed emotional state might have been the underlying cause. However, the fact that he didn't know those women and vice-versa also had its significance. He couldn't relate his emotions, no matter how hard he tried—for a little bit, he was glad he stopped doing it; it made him feel horrible.

Just plain horrible.

And, to top it off, for an unknown reason, he always compared his sexual activities with women to his first sexual encounter.

Every single damn time.

He couldn't imagine what those women would do if they knew that he was thinking about "other" things when he was with them—they might cut off his you-know-what, but who knows; hell had no fury like woman's scorn.

And, yeah. When Sasuke said "first encounter," he meant _that_. That time when he saved Naruto.

Remember? Sasuke sure did. Really vividly, if he was being honest with himself.

Still, the most embarrassing thing about this was that Sasuke had to admit that his first experience was better than the rest. No matter how hard he tried to deny it at first, he couldn't lie to himself. Who was he kidding? Lying to oneself was simply pointless and impossible—it would defy the laws of nature.

He tried to come up with reasons, too, to answer the why-the-fuck-I would-think-that question, but failed miserably. His mind couldn't find the logic in this. The only excuse he could think of was that maybe it was because they knew each other—and it might not be stretching it to say that they understood each other—which maybe made the situation a little special.

Maybe. Sasuke didn't know that for sure. Heck, he didn't know, and he didn't want to know; sometimes certain things are better left unknown.

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"State who you are and what your purpose is here," the guard at the guard post said when he spotted Sasuke entering Konoha's village compound; he and his partner quickly left the guard post to get closer to the newcomer.

All the while, Sasuke was watching the two carefully—watching for their reactions to his return to Konoha. Would they fight him or accept him? Luckily, Sasuke didn't feel any threatening vibes from those guards, only caution.

He knew those two—the inseparable duo: Kotetsu and Itsumo. And he also knew that they knew him, too—he had the Uchiha symbol attached at his shirt; they would have to be really stupid if they couldn't recognize who he was at first glance. Still, the question was necessary: It was the protocol, a formality—every guard knew that.

"Uchiha Sasuke. I want to meet the great medical nin Tsunade-sama." Sasuke answered. Short and precise.

Kotetsu and Itsumo looked taken aback. They were not expecting to see Sasuke back in Konoha, and they were not expected for him to call for Tsunade as medical nin, either.

"Well, sorry, Uchiha-san, but we have to make sure you don't bring any threat to the Gon… I mean, Tsunade-sama. You have to wait here for awhile. Your escort will come shortly.

"Hn."

No more words were exchanged after that.

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Several ANBU arrived not long after. With the masks that they wore, nobody could correctly guess if they were shocked to see Sasuke in Konoha or not—professional conduct didn't allow them to show emotions, either way.

Moreover, Sasuke was not one of the S-class missing ninja; his name was not in the Jumbo book list—that particular status would be decided later after the council meeting. For now, he was just a missing ninja; they would treat him as such.

"Traveller-san, state your name and your purpose here in Konoha," the ANBU acting as their leader directed as protocol indicated.

Sasuke, who was well-aware with such protocol, gave his answers calmly.

"Well, then. We will escort you to Tsunade-sama's working chamber. Do not attempt anything dangerous, or we will be forced to hurt you. For safety measures, I request you hand over any weapons in your possession to us now," the ANBU continued; he pointed to Sasuke's katana to emphasize his request.

Sasuke hesitated for a moment. He didn't want to be completely vulnerable in this situation, but it would be impossible to meet Tsunade if he refused their order. Furthermore, he needed these people to trust that he didn't bring any harm.

After a few moments of hesitation, he handed over his katana along with the other weapons he had, keeping a watchful eye on his katana.

Satisfied with Sasuke's agreeable manner, they escorted him to the Hokage's working chamber without any problems. They led him through several empty streets towards the tower carefully so that people couldn't see who they were escorting; before the council said anything, Sasuke's return would be a secret.

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Sasuke had never been in this room before. Even though he said "room," it was more like a cell than a room—a prison cell: There was a sink, a toilet and sink, and a bunk-bed. The only difference was that this room had a window overlooking a street.

He was left in there by the ANBU; they said Tsunade-sama was busy at the moment, so he had to wait here for her—she would be available in half an hour.

And that was two hours ago; he had yet to meet Tsunade.

He began to suspect this was just a ploy to see his reaction. They wanted to study his behaviour. He was sure there must be some cameras fitted in this room just for that. Realizing this made him a little angry, but he soon calmed himself down. He couldn't blame them for acting slightly paranoid like this.

After all, he was a missing ninja with too many issues in his head. It would be careless of them just to assume Sasuke was safe without any inspections.

So he just let it slip this time. Knowing that he wouldn't be seeing Tsunade any time soon, he let himself get comfortable on the bed and fell asleep.

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He had been up for about three hours now when he heard a barely audible knock on the door. He was a bit shocked when he was met with a familiar face.

_Why are they sending Shikamaru to fetch me?_

"Good morning, Sasuke," the lazy ninja drawled out, sending Sasuke an irritated lazy look—how Shikamaru managed to produce that combination was an all-time mystery.

It was obvious by the look on Shikamaru's face that he didn't appreciate being Sasuke's escort this morning; morning is best for cloud watching, not ex-missing ninja watching.

So troublesome.

Shikamaru was rudely awakened from his sleep this morning by a bird messenger that clearly came from the Hokage Tower. In pure Shikamaru style, he ignored the bird and went back to sleep only to be woken by the second, third, fourth, and fifth birds.

Well, too bad for the birds, because waking up didn't mean he would leave his comfortable spot on his bed—it was time for cloud watching.

Yeah, Shikamaru was lazy like that.

But when someone was knocking incessantly at his door, he couldn't ignore it anymore.

Now, here he was—two hours late—facing the Uchiha Sasuke, missing, troublesome ninja extraordinaire. To Shikamaru, Sasuke looked very different from the last time he saw him. Although he retained his hair style and he still had his pale complexion, he was now taller with broad shoulder.

_As tall as Kakashi__,_ Shikamaru speculated.

His face looked completely mature with worry lines, hard lines, and sharp edges; they showed how much he must have been through these past troublesome years.

Shikamaru also noticed that Sasuke looked startled when Shikamaru greeted him with his first name. Sasuke must have thought Shikamaru would act all formal and prissy on him. Che, like he would do that—that would be too much trouble; Shikamaru didn't do troublesome things if he could help it—he ran from them.

Also, he didn't have a reason to act like that towards Sasuke, because, oddly enough, he was not angry at him. He was not saying he was a saint, but, based on his own experience, he kinda understood why Sasuke decided to betray his village and his friends—so he couldn't get angry with him. Shikamaru had once been driven by revenge himself when his sensei died; he could only imagine how Sasuke was feeling to have to avenge his whole family.

"Hmm, hmm," Sasuke cleared his throat—his voice was hoarse from sleeping and not talking. "Good morning."

Shikamaru nodded his head in acknowledgement. He gestured his hand to Sasuke as a sign for Sasuke to follow him.

They didn't talk all the way to the Hokage's chamber. No ANBU escorted them; it showed that, for some reason, they were satisfied with what they observed from the cell of Sasuke's behaviour. Sasuke just hoped they would just stay satisfied and eventually begin to trust him.

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When Shikamaru pushed open the door to the Hokage's chamber, Tsunade was already waiting for Sasuke at her desk—her eyes were serious, scrutinizing him openly.

Sasuke, being the well-trained, emotionless person that he was, managed to keep his composure still and calm, seeming to be unaffected by the look.

After a year-long two minutes, the Hokage broke the stifling silence.

"I expect you to have a freaking good reason for being alive and standing here, Uchiha. Any bullshit and I can't guarantee your safety."

Tsunade meant business: the do-or-die kind. Unfortunately for Sasuke, Tsunade-sama seemed to hate him, and she was not shy to show it to the world.

"I come with no harm, Tsunade-sama," Sasuke started.

He needed to compose his speech properly to not aggravate the angry woman even more.

"I am well aware that I am guilty of leaving the village without permission and harming several Konoha villagers in the process."

Sasuke stopped his speech to see Tsunade's reaction. As he predicted, Tsunade looked pissed off.

He quickly continued, "I apologize for that. You have to believe me that it was not my real intention to do so. I am willing to accept any punishment for my mistakes."

"You will," Tsunade shot back.

"However, Tsunade-sama, I am also here to offer something, as I need your help, too. Call it a deal, if you may."

"What? Help to kill your brother?" Tsunade scoffed. "I thought you don't need any help in that matter. You refused our help, remember?" Tsunade really sounded menacing.

"No, you are right. I don't need help in that; I already killed him. In fact, that was one of the terms in my offer."

When Tsunade didn't reply, Sasuke continued, "I need your medical help, Tsunade-sama. If being a Konoha citizen is the only way to get it, I will stay in Konoha and never leave again. I am also willing to take any punishment sentenced upon me, but I hope you will consider my killing of two S-class criminals in your judgment."

"So, you want to be reinstated?"

"Yes, if that will help with my request. I will also want you to know that I will rebuild my clan here only if my request is fulfilled. Should I say, that is my offer to this village."

_So, this bra__t offers his clan's bloodline. How cunning. Those old geezers cannot refuse such an offer._

"Uchiha-san. I need to bring this matter to the council. You have to wait in the mean time. Nara-san will bring you back to your designated room," she said with finality.

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Looked like the cell would be his home for the time being—he should get comfortable here.

He was glad Tsunade ended their meeting quickly. He couldn't stand explaining things at such length to people, and the explanation just now was quite long for him. Yet, he still didn't tell Tsunade his true objective: his fertility problem. That woman just cut him off before he found the right moment to tell her about it.

Sasuke had no doubt he had to explain everything again later. Shit! He hated doing that.

He also hated the way Shikamaru seemed to be making himself comfortable in his room right now.

"What do you want?" Sasuke had to ask. Otherwise he might not leave.

"There's a bed, so I thought I could catch up on some sleep here."

"Seriously, what do you want?" Sasuke repeated, not believing one word the lazy guy said.

"Why are you here?" Shikamaru answered with a question of his own. He cracked open one eye to look at Sasuke.

"None of your business."

"Okay, then." Shikamaru continued to sleep.

Sasuke stood rigidly near the window, wondering why Shikamaru was acting so weird. Why was he acting so friendly? Why didn't he seem to care that Sasuke-the-traitor was back in Konoha? Why was he acting so careless? Did he think Sasuke couldn't harm him in any way? Was he insane, or was he just plain lazy?

"Why are you here?" Sasuke blurted out the question without realizing it.

Shikamaru opened his eyes at the inquiring tone.

"Why are _you _here?" Shikamaru threw back his original question.

It was easy to see that Shikamaru wouldn't leave the room without his question answered. Contemplating whether he should ignore Shikamaru or just answer the damn question, Sasuke figured he was better off answering than being stuck with Shikamaru all day—maybe he would go away after Sasuke answered him.

"My duty to my clan."

Shikamaru nodded—he understood with just that simple sentence. Added to Sasuke's conversation with the Hokage, he could say that he had come out with a theory.

Shikamaru was not a genius for nothing.

"Maaa, see you tomorrow. It will be troublesome, but your trial may start tomorrow. Jaa."

Shikamaru left the room, leaving Sasuke with only his thoughts.

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The next morning was a repeat of the previous morning. The only difference was that today he was brought to a court rather than the Hokage's chambers.

Upon arriving at the court, he was ordered to sit in the middle of the room while the elders sat surrounding him with Tsunade acting as a chair-person.

As he predicted, the court asked him to explain what he had told Tsunade the other day. There was uproar during his explanation—most of the elders were frantically talking to each other in shock.

"So, this Uchiha Sasuke requests to be reinstated as a Konoha citizen after a seven year absence. To support his case, he claimed to have killed two S-class criminals, which have been threatening this village's safety. Also, he offers a life-long commitment to this village in the form of his clan's survival. On top of that, this Uchiha Sasuke is willing to take any kind of punishment bestowed upon him as an act of repentance. Is all of this correct?"

All eyes were on Sasuke at that moment.

"Yes," he said calmly, but he was actually clenching his hands in nervousness—the "any kind of punishment" did make him slightly nervous.

The council began to talk all at once. He could hear them fighting over the importance of the Uchiha clan to the village; most of them would like to have the Uchiha clan back, except for Tsunade. She obviously wanted him out.

Luckily, more votes favoured him, and he was accepted back—his family name carried more weight than Sasuke ever expected.

For the punishment, they ordered Sasuke to wait in his room. Obviously they needed more time to think about it carefully. Nobody wanted to make a rash decision that could cost somebody's life.

So, once again, Sasuke was back in his cell. This time he was alone—Shikamaru was called back to the court after escorting him back to the room.

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He swore centuries had past before he heard the familiar lazy knocks at the door again. Shikamaru was back at his door and obviously had some news to deliver, seeing that his lips were twitching with mirth.

What could the punishment possibly be that made the super-lazy ninja lift his mouth muscles and almost smile?

This must be bad.

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"Sasuke." Shikamaru started, stopping immediately—he had to suppress the grin that threatened to break over his face.

"The old geezers up there—" Shikamaru stopped again for dramatic tension, "—want you to prove your loyalty. However, they won't imprison you, or put you on house arrest, or restrain your chakra—nothing troublesome like that."

"Then how?"

Sasuke wasn't sure he was supposed to be relieved or afraid of what Shikamaru was about to say.

"Well." Shikamaru grinned, tried to goad Sasuke. "They want you to teach pre-schoolers in the morning and help the elders at the folk's home during the afternoon for at least two years; it depends on your, err… performance."

"Stop spouting nonsense."

"Unfortunately for you, it's no nonsense. The councillors think that is a good idea for instilling loyalty in you. Instead of forcing you to be loyal to the village, they want _you_ to show your loyalty for a change. Clever, huh?"

"What does loyalty have to do with kids and old people?"

_Is he pretending to be dense, or has he become stupid over the years?_

Shikamaru heaved a heavy sigh, as if he was lifting something heavy.

"Well, you can't underestimate the affects. You never know how being a caretaker can change you."

_Hmm…_Sasuke was processing the news. _Somehow, this sounds suspicious._

"Tell me, do you have anything to do with that decision?" The reference to his punishment was implied.

"Hmm, hmm," Shikamaru cleared his throat; he was a bit reluctant to admit this. "It is troublesome, but I was elected to be your supervisor. What better way to supervise you than you being a teacher yourself—I mean, I'm a teacher, too. We'll be in a same building; that way, I can monitor you easily."

Shikamaru continued under his breath, "At least I don't have to go to stupid Uchiha district every damn day."

Sasuke looked at Shikamaru incredulously.

_How lazy can this guy be?_

"Aaaa… Before I forget." Shikamaru pointed at Sasuke's attire. "You should change your costume or whatever you call it."

"Don't tell me; the council ordered me to do that, too."

"No, that is my opinion. I think it's hideous."

"Fuck off. I don't need your freaking opinions."

"Alright, alright. Che, so troublesome. Can't a guy give his opinion without being cursed at?" Shikamaru mumbled to himself, quite irritated by Sasuke's behaviour—he was just being honest.

"When should I start?"

"Aaaaa…. Not this week. Maybe next week. You get to settle down for a few days. The council suggested for you to move back to the Uchiha district and fix it. They want you to rebuild it or something."

"Hn. Of course."

"Man, the council got a lot out of this. They will have a teacher for free for two years!" At this, Shikamaru pointed his finger at Sasuke. "And they don't have to spend anything to reconstruct the Uchiha district." Shikamaru looked at Sasuke for confirmation. "Sasuke, do you really want to stay? Sounds like a lot of troublesome work to me." Shikamaru carefully observed Sasuke's reaction when he said that. Sasuke just ignored him, busying himself with packing up his things—his weapons had been given back to him.

"Hn. Whatever. Mind your own business. Can I go now, or do you still have to escort me, too?" he asked mockingly.

"As troublesome as that might be, I still have to go with you for now. Just to make sure, you know."

"Fuck. I'm not gonna runaway. This is bullshit."

"Two points deducted." Shikamaru made an act of writing something in his notebook that seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

"What do you think you are doing, Shikamaru?"

"Keeping track of your points. You lost two already. Let's see, you have another 98 points."

"What the fuck is this? The council wants to grade me, now?"

"Ah… Another point deducted. Mind your language, Sasuke, or you will be pointless within hours. Nahh, the council has nothing to do with this; this is my way of monitoring you."

Shikamaru gave him a lazy grin. He was not mad at Sasuke, but he enjoyed seeing Sasuke become uncomfortable. Served him right for what he made his friends go through.

_That emo-freak needs to be taught a few lessons._

Sasuke let out an exasperated sigh. Shikamaru wouldn't let him go that easy, would he? This point system was obviously created to annoy him. Great! As if he didn't have enough things to be annoyed about.

Like the punishment, for example.

What the fuck had the councilors been thinking when they decided that? How was he supposed to be a teacher? And in charge of pre-school kids, no less? He didn't even know what kind of language they used to communicate. Could they even talk?

Nuh-uh. He couldn't imagine himself being a teacher.

And old people? Okay, he admitted he had been with Orochimaru—who was considered old by most—for almost three years, but Orochimaru hardly needed to be "taken care of." What were you supposed to do at an old folk's home, anyway? Dance? Sing? Cook? Read them stories?

Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose. Did he really have to do that? No shit.

_Don't think about it, and you'll be fine. Focus on the Uchiha district,_ his mind supplied before Sasuke could start banging his head on the nearest flat surface in frustration.

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The Uchiha district was the perfect image of a ghost town in horror movie: abandoned houses, abandoned streets, and bad memories. Sasuke almost cringed looking at what he was supposed to fix and doubted he would ever finish fixing it.

"Do you have anything else to say?" Sasuke hoped the question would leave an impression that he wanted Shikamaru to leave him alone—he wanted to brood in the corner by himself; the Uchiha district made him depressed.

"I do. You probably have guessed this, but you should be careful about showing yourself to the public. The council also worries about the public's acceptance of your return. So, before you start teaching, don't show yourself unnecessarily. The council doesn't want any chaos."

Sasuke only shrugged his shoulders. He understood what Shikamaru was trying to say. He didn't plan to parade himself around town, either. The fewer people who knew he came back, the better. He hated answering questions.

"Then, I expect to see you at the Academy next Monday. You know where it is, right?"

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He did it again! Naruto sighed. It was funny the first few times, but when he was late to work and Ryu was supposed to be at the academy by now, he found Ryu's antics a little less entertaining.

He always did this on Mondays—pretend to lose his school stuff so he didn't have to go to the Academy. It would take hours for Naruto to find all the items and prepare Ryu properly for school.

_He is getting smarter._

The first time this had happened, Ryu had hid himself, but, unknown to Ryu, Naruto could easily detect his chakra—Ryu had been found within minutes. So, the next time he hid, the location was more complicated than the first's. Still, Naruto found him easily enough. However, Ryu was a clever boy—Naruto was sure the cleverness came from his genes—and he didn't bother to try to hide anymore. Instead, he stashed his stuff around the house. These Naruto had a difficult time finding.

It had become some kind of ritual now; every time Monday came around, Naruto would be on a school-stuff-hunt. Ryu would not help him one bit. He would just sit at the dining room table, eating onigiri innocently—like he didn't know his Dada was busy searching for his stuff.

Initially, Naruto suspected maybe Ryu was being bullied at the Academy and thought that was the reason he didn't want to go to school. He started acting this way when Naruto took a job where he'd be working outside of the village: A job with a fixed time and nice pay. Worried about his boy's well-being, he went to ask the teacher at Ryu's daycare center. She was a young, lovely girl, temporarily part of the staff until the Academy could find a replacement. She said that Ryu was great with the other kids. He had a lot of friends. But Ryu and Asuma—his best friend—she had to admit, were a bit naughty. Apart from that, he was fine.

Naruto was so relieved to hear that. So, why was Ryu acting that way?

He tried asking Ryu one day, but the boy's limited vocabulary didn't really help the conversation. He kept saying "Dada," "Ryu," and "home" repeatedly. Naruto—in his denseness—couldn't decipher what Ryu was trying to say.

True, Ryu was a smart kid. He learned things fast and liked to draw, build things, and make friends, but he still couldn't talk properly. Naruto was also a bit worried about this, but when Sakura told him the reason, he began to feel guilty. According to Sakura, Ryu's difficulty learning how to talk properly was because there were not many people around him that could talk to him when he was young. A child needed to be talked to in order for him/her to learn words and the art of speaking. His (Ryu's) conversations among his friends his own age were not a good enough incentive—he needed adults.

That was when Naruto was hit with a realization—Ryu wanted Naruto to be with him, always. Because, with his new job, he had to leave Ryu at the daycare and only returned home late in the afternoon to pick him up. Since he had a fixed-time job, he usually had the weekends off—only during weekends could he be with Ryu 24 hours a day.

So he could understand why Ryu was always acting up on Mondays—that boy knew he had to wait days until he could have his Dada all to himself again. That was why Naruto couldn't bring himself to scold Ryu for his temper-tantrums. It wasn't Ryu's fault—he just needed attention.

Nevertheless, Naruto couldn't do anything about this—the job gave good pay with reasonable working hours. Who would have thought raising a child required so much money? While good mission also paid good money, he couldn't accept mission that had him leave Konoha for a long period of time—he preferred to come back home on a daily basis. Of course, Naruto still taking missions once in a while, but only very special kinds of missions—missions that fit with his circumstances.

Because, for a twisted reason, Ryu couldn't stand to be around other adults for very long. First, he would start sniffing them and would cry when he didn't like their smells. When they first arrived in Konoha, Ryu couldn't stand most of Naruto's friends, except for Lee. Yeah, it was weird, but he didn't cry when he sniffed Lee.

Only God knew why.

And—thank God!—after a long while, Ryu had become accustomed to some of them, namely Iruka-sensei (he was his teacher anyway), Sakura, Kakashi-sensei, Kurenai-sensei, Shikamaru, and Tsunade-sama. Only when one of those guys was available could Naruto take a long mission—which was very rare indeed; they were all busy ninjas.

Really, he didn't know how he would manage if not for his friends' support. Life was so hard for Naruto; a few times he cried along with Ryu—especially when Ryu was sick. Oh, God—when Ryu was sick, he felt like he was the one that was slowly dying. Luckily, he had two medical ninjas at his every beck and call.

He felt so grateful.

He really was a lucky guy. Really, really lucky.

Although he said his life was hard, he predicted it could actually be worse than this, especially when he thought about people's reactions at his return from the one-and-a-half years' absence. Since Naruto was not a good liar, he couldn't come up with a good reason for why he suddenly came back with a baby that was a small replica of him—except for the eyes and black hair; maybe the saying was true: The baby boy looked more like his "mother" than his father.

The first person he met upon his return was none other than Tsunade herself. She was so stunned at the child Naruto carried that she was speechless for a few minutes. Suddenly, out of nowhere, she gave Naruto a wicked smile.

_Uh-oh. That smile means nothing but trouble._

"Sooooooooooooooooooooo, brat," Tsunade slurred the word for as long as she could, wicked smile still in place. "When you said you wanted to leave the village, was this—" she pointed to the bundle in Naruto's arms, "—the reason why?"

Naruto gulped nervously. He nodded, not trusting his voice to speak right now—he might blurt it all out if he started speaking.

"Oh my! My Naruto-chan is a big boy now. Why didn't you say you knocked up a girl and needed to do your good deed, huh?" Tsunade was openly smiling now. She winked suggestively at Naruto—her worries about Naruto's weird behaviour before he left the village vanished.

_Knocked up? _Naruto was naturally dense.

"Sooooooooooooo, when did you meet the woman? During a mission? Ho-ho-ho, you are naughty. Hmm, now I understand the maternity hospital incident. Tsk, tsk, tsk, Naruto. You should control your hormones better." Tsunade was still grinning.

_Woman?_

"Woman?" Naruto's face was a block of confusion.

"Ma, ma. You can stop playing dumb with me, brat. Okay, fine. Let me rephrase: your 'lady friend'?" Tsunade made quotations with her fingers.

_Lady friend? During mission?_

"Do you mean Kagura-chan?" Naruto tried to follow Tsunade's confusing conversation.

"Ohhhhhh… So her name is Kagura, huh? Why don't you bring her here? I'd like to meet the woman who seduced our Na-ru-to-kun."

Tsunade laughed at her own joke.

"Err… She's dead."

Tsunade abruptly stopped laughing. She felt sorry to bring up that subject.

"Oh, I'm sorry brat. I don't know."

"Me, too." That was Sakura.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed, surprised.

"Oh, he is so cute. Can I hold him?" Sakura asked hopefully, avoiding the two questioning stares directed at her.

"Okay, I'm sorry for barging in, but I was waiting outside to give you this medical report, Tsunade-sama. I couldn't help listening in; it was about Naruto, after all. I couldn't resist."

Sakura tried to take Ryu from Naruto; Ryu gave her a sniff and started crying. He didn't like the new lady and her attempt to take him away from his Dada.

"Sorry, he doesn't like strangers much. I think he needs time to adjust to his new surroundings."

"It's okay. I understand. So, what is his name?"

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From there, the rumors went downhill. He didn't have to explain anything to anyone; suddenly people knew his story: he was a widower whose wife died during birth, raising a boy by himself.

He would never underestimate the power of gossiping ninjas again; they were a fearful bunch.

That was why he said he was a very lucky, lucky man.

His friends—as the word indicated—were still his friends; nothing changed. They were happy Naruto was back, for now their source of entertainment was back to humour them. They embraced the news of Naruto having a child with open arms.

Though his friends were fine with this, some of the villagers were not. But, what was new about that? There would always be some people that would forever hate him, no matter what he did.

Fortunately, the council didn't say much about it. They just ordered Tsunade to check on Naruto's seal, and that was it. As far as their knowledge went, Ryu was born from a normal human being, so he should be normal. He looked normal, too; nothing out of the ordinary. Or so they thought.

If only they knew.

If only. They surely wouldn't have let Ryu live; Naruto shuddered at the thought. He would keep the secret forever with him. Nobody needed to know, including Ryu. He would not tell a single soul. He would die with this secret.

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"Come on, Ryu-chan. Dada has found all your things. We can go now. Don't you want to play with Asuma-kun? And Uncle Iruka will be there too!" Naruto spoke in his most persuasive voice.

Ryu pensively looked at him, not moving an inch from his spot at the dining room table. Naruto seriously doubted those kinds of behaviours were picked up from him. Was it a genetic trait? Because if that was the case, he knew who to blame.

"Oh, Ryu-chan. You are a good boy, right? Dada promises he will come back early and buy you more blocks, okay? But you have to go to school first, okay?"

Still receiving no response, Naruto picked up the three-year-old boy and held him. Ryu immediately put his hands around Naruto's neck, hugging him—Ryu didn't want to let his Dada go. He wouldn't be able to see his Dada again until evening.

Naruto sighed. He always felt guilty when Ryu acted like this. Sometimes, he just wanted to give in to Ryu's demands, but he knew better. He really needed to go to work.

"We're going now, okay?"

"Hn," Ryu mumbled, his mouth pressed against Naruto's neck, arms still circling it.

_Ah…_Naruto brushed the boy's back tenderly.

_He doesn't just act like him; he starting to sound like him, too._

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They arrived late, like they usually did on Monday mornings. The older students' classes had already started—Naruto could hear Iruka-sensei's voice from the outside. Ryu was in pre-school—it was more like a daycare center, actually—so he didn't need to worry about arriving late.

Naruto was more worried about him being late to work. He kissed Ryu's head once and told him the same things he told Ryu every day when Naruto dropped him off at school:

"I love you. Be a good boy for me, okay? Dada will pick Ryu this evening, okay?"

He put the boy down when he noticed that Ryu's caretaker was walking towards them to take Ryu inside.

_This must be a new staff member._

Naruto couldn't see the person properly, but he was sure that person was not the young, sweet girl he met before. He could only make out the outline of the other and shook his head when he saw a flash of red. He hurriedly left the Academy for his work.

_It can't be. I must be imagining things. That can't be Sasuke. What would he be doing there, anyway? Teaching?_

Naruto scoffed at his own thoughts—what an absurd thought. To him, Sasuke teaching pre-schoolers was like a gravity-defying theory; it could be proven in theory but not in real life.

Yeah, who was he kidding—it would never happen.

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The start of his new role as a teacher to these pre-schoolers was awkward. The little demons were everywhere when he arrived; they were making a big mess of the daycare center: Toys were scattered around, bits of crayons stuck on the floor, papers strewn and shredded.

Damnit!

Shikamaru was supposed to help him with this, but that lazy bum had vanished almost immediately after he finished telling Sasuke his job description: He had to teach these little demons numbers, the alphabet, drawing, and folk songs, among other things.

Apart from that, he had to tuck them in to sleep at recess, assist them when they had to use toilet facilities, and feed them lunch.

And the worst of it?

Between all of this, he couldn't lose his temper, couldn't swear, or use dangerous jutsu, or else he would lose points.

Great, just great. This was only his first day, and he had already lost his confidence.

He started his job by counting heads—there were 27 of them altogether. Wait, there was supposed to be one more little demon.

_Where is another one?_

While he was counting, one of the children approached him. Pointing at Sasuke, she asked, "Who are you, mister?"

"Uchiha Sasuke," he answered sternly.

The little girl gave him a confusing tilt of her head—she didn't really get what Sasuke said. Sasuke sighed and crouched down to the child's height. "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I am your new sensei. You can call me Uchiha-sensei," he said slowly, hoping the girl would understand him this time.

"New sensei?"

Sasuke nodded. He pointed to himself. "Uchiha-sensei."

"Uchiha-sensei?" There was a chorus of curious voices surrounding him. The children had noticed his presence and now were approaching him to get a better look at him. He began to get nervous. What should he do now? Ask them to introduce themselves?

"Er…" he started, eyes darting around the classroom—a lot of excited eyes were looking back at him.

He was so relieved to hear someone at the door—his chance to escape for awhile. He quickly stood and went to see who it was at the entrance.

_That must be the 28th little demon._

Someone was holding the boy up. Someone with blond hair and blue eyes. Someone he once called his best friend. Someone he would never think would be carrying a child, kissing said child on the forehead, and calling himself "Dada."

_I must be dreaming._

He blinked and activated his Sharingan to see if this was indeed just an illusion—it was not. The man really was Naruto, but before Sasuke could call out his name, he was already gone.

The child that Naruto left there walked towards him slowly.

_This must be his son. They look exactly the same,_ Sasuke mused.

Noticing that Sasuke was staring at him, the boy stared back defiantly and started to sniff Sasuke after awhile. Then his eyes became as big as saucers.

"Smells like Ryu!" the boy exclaimed excitedly.

_Hyper, just like Naruto._

Sasuke crouched down to that boy's level. If it was possible, the boy's eyes became even larger.

"Kuku! Kuku! Kuku! Kuku!" He proceeded to hug Sasuke's neck and play with his hair. When Ryu finally let go, the boy was doing a very funny flapping motion. Soon, everybody followed him.

Sasuke watched dumbfounded.

Well, that was certainly weird.

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Okay, finished this chapter. They certainly met in this chapter, right? Right? Right!!

Well, I am so giddy now. I can finally write about them, not Sasuke or Naruto as a one-sided character. Kui kui kui.

Next chapter:

**Chapter 9: Hear no Sasuke, Speak no Sasuke. There is no Sasuke!**


	10. A Missing Man is Not a Missing Man if He

**Edited by Obscure Omen**

Disclaimer: Naruto is © to Kishimoto, a Japanese mangaka.

A SasuNaru story. A slow kind.

Enjoy!

**Warning: Spoilers for recent chapters of the manga. Not much, but they're still spoilers.**

**Chapter 9: A missing person is not a missing person if he was not missing!**

Iruka wondered what was wrong with the situation that was unfolding before him now—he was watching the day-care center, which, at the moment, looked like someone had let a flock of chickens loose.

Just two minutes ago, he was in the staff room marking homework. All of a sudden, he could hear the "kuku kuku" sounds all the way from the staff room. He looked at his colleagues for confirmation—he needed to make sure it was not only his imagination running wild. The other teachers in the staff room—Anko, Ebisu, and several others—pretended like they couldn't hear it; Iruka knew they were pretending, because suddenly everyone became busy.

It was not really strange at the Academy to suddenly hear loud noises coming from the classes; it was a ninja academy, after all (that taught how to fight and kill people using pointy, sharp objects)—someone was bound to get hurt, and the others always just waited for this moment to start riot.

Ahh, the wonders of teaching little ninjas—parents couldn't sue you for getting their children hurt.

Iruka waited for a little while to see if any of his colleagues would be nice enough to leave their seats and investigate the cause of the loud noise. No one made any sign of moving.

_Lazy bunch of jerks. I hope their butts get stuck to their seats._

Iruka left his place agitatedly and walked as fast as he could to the source of the noise. Mind him, he was not usually this agitated, and he didn't make it a habit, wishing for other people's demise, either. But he was a little worried and nervous today. Earlier this morning, he was summoned to the Hokage Tower to meet the Hokage. However, since he was already late to school—it was Monday; everybody was late on Monday—he couldn't make the time. And, since the ANBU that relayed the message said it wasn't urgent, he just headed straight to the Academy—he couldn't leave his students alone by themselves for too long; they might hurt themselves unnecessarily.

Moreover, the Hokage often summoned him, so it was not like this summon thing was weird. Sometimes she called just to talk about the Academy, or usually to ask about Naruto's well-being; that Hokage really cared about Naruto a lot, but she was too busy to meet the boy herself. Still, what made Iruka nervous was that she always summoned him during the evening—when she knew Iruka had finished with school. But to call him in the morning, she must have had something important to tell Iruka.

Iruka quickened his pace. It would not do to worry about that now. The ANBU himself said it was not urgent, so it should be okay, right?

_Right!_ Iruka easily convinced himself.

But all the worries were thrown out of the window when he reached the noise's source.

_What is happening here? Some kind of practice?_

Iruka didn't think that was the case, because as far as he knew, there was no upcoming event for any school play or show or drama. He looked around for the teacher in charge but couldn't find the young, sweet girl who was supposed to look after these children.

_Ah, I forget. She has quit already. Where's her replacement?_

He looked again and almost doubled over in shock when he saw who was kneeling on the floor, looking dumbfounded.

_Uchiha Sasuke? What—what he's doing here with the kids?_

Iruka slowly backtracked to the door—hoping Sasuke still didn't detect his presence—opened the door as slowly as he could to make an escape route, and reached into his weapons pouch; any move from Sasuke, and he would be ready to attack.

"Don't."

_He noticed!_

"I'm their new sensei, sensei." Sasuke carefully pulled himself to a standing position; his eyes watched Iruka's attack stance like a hawk. What was Iruka thinking? Attack him? Sasuke tried not to roll his eyes. For him, fighting a chunin like Iruka was easy; if he wanted, he could take Iruka down in the blink of an eye.

But these children wouldn't stand a chance if they fought. He needed to let Iruka-sensei know.

"I take it you were not informed."

_Really, where is Shikamaru? He was supposed to inform everyone. How can the council trust Shikamaru, if he just goes ahead and does this?_

"Do you really think I will believe you?"

"I—" Sasuke's explanation was interrupted by Ryu hugging Iruka's knee.

"Yuka-sei, Yuka-sei! Kuku! Kuku!" He pointed at Sasuke excitedly, overjoyed to introduce his "best friend" to his uncle. With his small hand, he beckoned at Sasuke to come closer to Iruka-sensei and him. Sasuke dutifully walked towards them—he couldn't resist Ryu's twinkling eyes.

When Sasuke got close enough, Ryu let go of Iruka's knee and hugged Sasuke's knee instead. He tugged at Sasuke's pant leg until Sasuke crouched down to his level. Once again, Ryu climbed into Sasuke's lap and played with his hair, shouting "kuku kuku" happily.

Now, this made Iruka dumfounded. Sasuke smirked. So it was not only him—even Iruka found this situation strange, meaning that his own dumbfounded state earlier was a normal reaction.

_What… How…Why…Err…_

Iruka failed to come out with a coherent thought. This was really weird—Ryu was getting friendly with an adult stranger. Iruka was pretty sure Ryu had never met Sasuke before, so Sasuke was definitely a stranger to Ryu.

This was weird.

Because, over the years, they—Naruto, his friends, and Iruka—had their suspicions about why Ryu didn't really like to be with adults. That boy had an amazing ability: He had an incredible sense of smell. By sniffing people, he could sense people's strong emotion, like if people had any ill intention or something like that—but that was only their theory; they didn't know that for sure.

So Ryu getting friendly like that with Sasuke was telling something; Sasuke didn't pose any threat—or at least Ryu didn't feel Sasuke was a threat. Iruka slowly relaxed his stance—he trusted Ryu's judgment. If that boy thought Sasuke was safe, he probably was. No need to doubt that. Maybe he really was the new replacement. Maybe what Sasuke said was true. Maybe this was what Tsunade wanted to inform him this morning. According to what Sasuke said just now, he should have been informed.

"Shikamaru was supposed to inform you. He is supposed to assist me, too, but he's gone," Sasuke casually replied like he could read Iruka's mind.

_How did he know what I wanted to ask? Can he really read minds?_

Iruka once heard the rumour that the Sharingan could read minds. It would be amazing if Sasuke could, but Iruka absolutely didn't appreciate being mind-read one bit.

"Don't worry. I can't read minds."

_Okay, that was creepy._

Iruka cleared his throat. "How long have you been here? What are you doing here? Who knows that you are here?"

_Does Naruto know you are here?_

"Ah… Sensei." Sasuke managed to untangle himself from Ryu and put the boy down. "Can you help me a bit here? In exchange, I'll answer all of your questions."

Iruka stepped into the middle of the class and drew the class's attention to him. He started talking about the weather: how sunny it was and how nice it would be to have watermelon! The children cheered happily—watermelon was yummy! Then he proceeded to give each of the children drawing paper and ask them to draw a watermelon. In three minutes flat, all the children were quiet, concentrating on their watermelon drawings.

"Hn. You make it look easy." Sasuke was impressed but didn't know how to show it.

"Don't change the subject. Now, answer me."

Sasuke told him as shortly and precisely as he possibly could. Looked like Iruka didn't consider Sasuke a threat anymore by the way he was acting right now—just like the teacher Sasuke remembered he was. Between Sasuke's explanations, Iruka only nodded in understanding and once in awhile threw in more questions for details. Keeping the more personal details to himself, he just told Iruka the necessary information.

"So, your team. Do they know you are back? Does Naruto know?" Iruka looked at him questioningly.

"No," Sasuke deadpanned. Iruka looked shocked.

"Why not? They should know. They deserve to know."

"I don't have the obligation to tell anyone. That's not my problem."

_Oh my God! This stuck-up brat!_

To hide his unpleasant feelings, Iruka gave a small smile.

"Are you afraid of them, Sasuke-kun? You know, they won't bite. Maybe a little, but you won't die from it."

"Hn. Believe what you want, but fear is not one of my feelings for them."

_Gah. This stuck-up brat. How can he be so arrogant? Serves him right that he has to teach these little terrors. Let's see how you fare, Uchiha-sensei._

"I hate to point out the obvious, but the one who played with your hair just now is Naruto's son."

"I know."

"You know? How did you know? Have you met him?"

"Hn."

_So he has met Naruto. Naruto must know he is back._

"Alright then, Uchiha-sensei. You said Shikamaru is supposed to help you? If I find him I'll let him know. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a class to teach. Good luck, Uchiha-sensei."

And Iruka was out of the door.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Okay, what now? Iruka-sensei had left. Only he was left to face these little demons—alone.

"Sensei, I have finished." A girl with a ponytail showed her drawing, expectantly waiting for Sasuke to praise her work.

What he was supposed to say? "Good"? But it didn't look like a watermelon at all…

Uh-huh. Maybe he really should ask them to introduce themselves before the others started showing their drawing to Sasuke.

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As promised, Naruto stopped at a toy store in the village he worked in to buy some blocks (Legos) for Ryu—the village was only a thirty minutes ninja-speed run from the Konoha gates: almost a two-hour journey for normal civilian.

"Ma, ma. You are gonna spoil that boy rotten, Naruto."

Turning his head, Naruto could see Kakashi-sensei, already with a purchase in his hand.

"Aaaaaaa…..Kakashi-sensei! When did you come back?"

Eyeing the purchase in Kakashi's hand, Naruto continued, "You must be talking about yourself. What are you going to do with those blocks? You know Ryu loves them, don't you?"

"Ah, these blocks?" Kakashi lifted them up as emphasize. "These are for my fish, you know. Nutritional food: A daily intake is necessary."

Naruto shook his head from side to side, feeling exasperated.

"Kakashi-sensei, Kakashi-sensei. Tsk, tsk, tsk. How long will it take for you to realize your lies are not gonna fool anyone? Do you actually think people will believe them?"

"Oh! I'm so sad, Naruto. You used to believe me wholeheartedly. Now, you even accuse me of telling lies. What the world has come to? Can't a student—"

"Shut up, Kakashi-sensei."

"—believe in his teacher anymore? Oh, what have I done to deserve this terrible—"

"Seriously sensei, you can stop now."

"—terrible, terrible fate? Oh, poor me!" Kakashi faked a distressed pose.

Naruto jabbed Kakashi on the arm.

"You are suchhh a drama queen."

"Maaa…. You know you like me this way."

"I thought I told you not to make any misleading comments, you grey-haired pervert."

Kakashi grinned under his mask and ruffled Naruto's hair—annoying his students was still his favourite past time; it was his privilege as their teacher and his source of entertainment.

They were almost at the Konoha gate when Naruto remembered to ask, "How was your mission, sensei? Eight months is quite a long time, you know. Did you find what you were searching for?"

Mind back on his mission, Kakashi became serious, stance and all.

"You know I can't tell you that even if I wanted to."

The blond man nodded, aware that his sensei had emotionally changed. Trying to lighten the mood back up, he invited Kakashi to dinner with him and Ryu.

"Nah, I think I'll call it a day. Anyway, when you said dinner, it must be either ramen or onigiri. I'll pass on that."

"Hey, don't you dare look down on ramen and onigiri-dattebayo! They are deities brought forth among mere human to give us happiness," Naruto said this with a face full of emotion, as if he could possibly convince random people what he just said was true.

"Uh-huh. Look who is the drama queen now. Jaa."

Kakashi was gone before Naruto could retort.

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Iruka was at the day-care center as usual when Naruto arrived; he took over after Sasuke's shift, since Sasuke had to go to the old folk's home in the afternoon. It was almost 7:00 PM when they finally heard Naruto hurried footsteps approaching the day-care center. Ryu ran enthusiastically towards his Dada, ready to tell of his activities of the day.

"Dada, Dada! Ryu find Kuku. Ryu find Kuku!"

"Really? That's great, Ryu-chan," Naruto said off-handedly, indulging his son's story-telling—whether he understood what Ryu was saying was beside the point.

Ryu flapped his arms as a demonstration—he nearly fell from Naruto's hold when he did that; Naruto just tightened his hold and laughed. It was always brightened up his day to see Ryu this happy.

"And—and melon! Melon!" Ryu wriggled himself from Naruto's hold, a sign he wanted to be put down. Naruto put him down to see Ryu running to get his backpack, obviously wanting to take out the watermelon drawing.

"Oh, hi, Iruka-sensei. He looks very happy today." Naruto tilted his head towards Ryu's direction.

"Yeah. He's very happy today. Errr…. So, Naruto…" Iruka fidgeted. "I understand you have met him."

_Him? Kakashi-sensei?_

"Yeah. I've met him," Naruto answered, not really paying attention. He was distracted by Ryu's enthusiastic half-chatter about his melon and "Kuku"—it was melon this, "Kuku" this, and "Kuku" that. In all honesty, he wasn't that interested in discussing his meeting with Kakashi-sensei—it was not that interesting a topic.

"Are you okay about this, Naruto?"

Naruto looked at Iruka-sensei weirdly.

"Well, I'm just concerned," Iruka-sensei quickly continued.

"No need to worry, Iruka-sensei. I am fine-tebbayo! Do you want to join us for dinner? I'm sorry for making you wait this late to pick up Ryu. I think we will go for ramen tonight. My treat."

"Onigiri! Onigiri!" Ryu chirped in when he heard food being mentioned in the conversation.

"But Ryu-chan, you just had onigiri this morning. Dada likes ramen. Don't you want to eat ramen, too?"

"Dada likes ramen. Ryu likes ramen, too," eager to please his Dada, he agreed quickly.

"Ah… I don't know who is spoiling whom, here." Iruka scratched his head, entertained by this parent-child pair.

"Akkkkk….. That was exactly what Kakashi-sensei accused me of when we met not too long ago. Not you, too-tebba!"

_Kakashi? When did he return? Well, whatever._

"Stop whining, Naruto. Well, if you're gonna pay, I'll gladly join you. Ryu is wonderful company to be with." Iruka proceeded to take Ryu from Naruto's hold—the little guy was busy with his new blocks.

"Hey, hey, what's that supposed to mean? What about me? I'm wonderful company, too, right? Hey, hey, Iruka-sensei! Don't ignore me. Senseiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii…." Naruto pouted.

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It was a usual affair at Ichiraku's at that time of day; a few ninjas were seen talking at a far end-table with another familiar person. They easily spotted Kiba sitting there at the counter; he was alone, with no Akamaru in sight.

"Hey, Kiba." Naruto sat himself a couple of seats away from Kiba. Ryu didn't like Kiba very much. Maybe it was because Kiba smelled strongly like dogs, but who knew?

"Hey, Naruto. Good evening, Iruka-sensei."

"Good evening, Kiba-kun."

Naruto ordered three bowls of chicken ramen with extra naruto (fish cakes); Ryu loved them very much—he loved eating naruto as much as he loved eating onigiri. Ryu jumped happily in Iruka-sensei's hold when he heard "naruto" and made the teacher put him on the counter to keep him from falling to the ground. Naruto just couldn't get enough of seeing Ryu's happiness—he sighed contently.

Then, he noticed Kiba was giving him curt glances.

"What is it, mutt-boy? You want naruto too?" Naruto tried to joke; Kiba looked forebodingly anxious.

"Say, Naruto. Did you know? He is back. I heard the rumours."

"He already met him," Iruka interjected.

"You did? No, shit Naruto. (Hey, Kiba-kun, language!) Ah, sorry, sensei. So, how is he? Is he, y'know, still a jerk?"

"A jerk? He is always a jerk; I doubt that will ever change. Well, he is the same as before, that drama queen."

"Waa, you sure are cool, Naruto. Here I thought you'd kick his ass as soon as you saw him. You seem so normal. So nothing's change, eh?"

"Hey, what did you expect? His return is no biggie. What is there to change?"

"Uh, okay. If you say so—as long as you don't go ballistic on me again like the last time."

"What last time? Are you still talking about that incident almost four years ago? Geez, Kiba. I said I was sorry already. Che, who is acting like a woman now, huh? Holding a grudge for such a small thing."

"Hey, blondie! If you don't want to be called a woman, don't call—ow ow ow ow, ouch! Wha-wha-what the hell?!"

"Ryu-chan! Don't bite him; he is not food. Plus, we don't know where that arm has been today.

"What?! You freaking idi—ouch!! Hey, watch it!"

"Shut up, Kiba. You'll scare the customers. Sorry, Ramen-san," Sakura apologized to the ramen shop owner; his name was not Ramen, of course. But, because Ryu called him that, everyone else just imitated him.

"I figured I would find you all here. Predictable much, eh?"

Naruto grinned his typical welcome grin but faltered a little at Sakura's serious face. She looked very tired, like she hadn't slept last night—she seemed to be shaking. Was she sick?

"What is it, Sakura-chan?"

"Have you heard, Naruto? He is back. He is back, Naruto. I can't believe it. Do you know about it, Naruto? Do you? Do you?"

Sakura was getting hysterical, clutching Naruto's shirt collar in her sudden aggressiveness.

"He already met him," Kiba supplied when Naruto failed to utter a word—he would have been choked to death if Sakura continued to strangle him like that.

Sakura stiffened. She looked directly into Naruto's eyes.

"Is that true?"

"Apparently, he met him today," Iruka helpfully added his information. With the way Sakura was holding Naruto, the poor man just couldn't explain himself.

"Calm down, Sakura. He's not gonna go anywhere." His most calming teacher-voice succeeded in making Sakura release her hold on Naruto and keeping her seated on one of the stools.

"Aren't you planning to meet him again? When are _we_ going to meet him? Don't you want to visit him?"

_Wahh!! Sakura is scary. What is so important about visiting Kakashi-sensei-tebba? The man has just returned; he needs rest._

"Well, I plan to visit him this weekend. I don't—can't visit him on weekdays. I have work—you, too, right, Sakura? And—and, I think he may need some rest before we go and visit him, right? He probably wants to be alone for awhile."

Relaxing a little to Naruto's logical explanation, Sakura regained her usual composure. She even smiled a little at Ryu.

"Okay. I guess so. So, we'll go visit him this Saturday, ok? Meet me at, err… his place. I'll go from the hospital."

"Okay. No problem. Don't be so tense, Sakura-chan. He'll be glad to see us."

"You think so?" Sakura's voice was full of disbelief.

"I really think so—believe it!1 Right, Ryu-chan?"

"Un!" Ryu replied, his mouth full of naruto. While the adults were talking, he quietly stole all the naruto and ate them.

Iruka-sensei face turned horrified—Ryu's cheeks made him look like a blow fish.

"Gah, Ryu-kun! You can't eat it all in one gulp. Come on, chew before you swallow it. Na-ru-to!" Iruka turned his head to look at Naruto menacingly.

"What have you taught him? Why is Ryu eating like this?"

Scratching behind his head, Naruto looked positively guilty.

"Er… Because he is in a hurry?"

Iruka's menacing face loomed closer.

_Oh, damn._

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Today was Tuesday morning.

Ryu was enthusiastically putting on his socks—he wanted to get to school faster—Kuku would be there; school was fun!

Today's Ryu made Naruto grin. He didn't care what this Kuku was, but as long as it could make Ryu this energetic and happy—not that Ryu was not always energetic and happy—Naruto was already thankful.

He carried Ryu on top of his shoulder to the Academy. At the Academy's compound they met Kurenai-sensei—she was on her way to bring her son, Asuma, to school, too. Immediately after Ryu saw Asuma, he wriggled to be put down. Upon being put down, he yelled Asuma's name, and both of them ran towards the day care.

And every time, Ryu would pause in his running, turn back to his Dada—who stood waiting at the Academy gate—and ran at full speed to hug his Dada. After that, he would run back inside to catch up with his best friend.

Naruto and Kurenai-sensei changed greetings and excused themselves for work.

It was like a ritual—this scene would reoccur every morning (except for Mondays, of course).

Life was just wonderful.

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For the rest of the week, nobody asked him about Kakashi's return again. It was weird, how people were making such a big fuss over Kakashi-sensei's return. It was not like that man was gone for very long—he had just been gone for about eight months or so; that was not very long in a ninja's standards.

And today was Saturday; they were going to visit that pervert at his place. Iruka wouldn't come along; he said he had work to do—he had to teach this new guy something; Naruto didn't really pay attention when Iruka-sensei was speaking. So, there would only be him and the rest of his friends: Sakura, Ino, Kiba, Sai, Lee, Neji, Tenten, Shino, and Hinata. Geez, what was with them and visiting Kakashi? Naruto was not even sure if Kakashi would let them inside his house—that man could be rude sometimes.

He planned to make tempura—Kakashi's favourite dish—to bring to Kakashi's house, so naturally he woke up early that morning. And surprise! Ryu woke up early, too. He wanted to help his Dada with cooking—which was a big hindrance, actually. The flour would get on his face, his shirt, his ponytail—yes, ponytail, just like Iruka-sensei!—and all over the kitchen.

Nevertheless, how could Naruto say no to his son's offer to help?

_Hmm, as long as he is happy._

After they had finished with the tempura, he had to bathe that boy again. Ryu didn't mind. He was just happy today. His Dada was going to bring him to school—or so he thought.

"Yeah. School. Ryu go to school!"

"No, Ryu-chan. We are going to Uncle Kakashi's house."

"No!" Ryu wailed loudly, "Ryu wants to go to school!"

_He spoke a full sentence!_

Naruto grinned, feeling proud of Ryu's achievement. He should just bring the boy to school as an appreciative token.

"Okay, okay. We'll stop at the Academy for a bit, okay?"

"Yeahh!! Ryu loves Dada. Lots and lots." He kissed Naruto on the cheek and hugged him.

"I love you, too, chibi."

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They walked to the Academy hand-in-hand. Ryu insisted in carrying the bento Naruto made, although it was easy to see that he was struggling with the weight. He was oblivious to all the stares directed their way—some of them were stares of admiration, but a few were stares of hatred. Thankfully Ryu was oblivious like that, and Naruto preferred it that way; he himself ignored them as much as he could. He didn't want Ryu to sense anything weird.

God, if he could, he wanted to cover Ryu's eyes and ears from the malicious stares. No one could taint his child innocence; he would make sure of that. If somebody was brave enough to do more than just stare at his Ryu, Naruto didn't think he would be able to keep himself from killing that person—his parental instincts wouldn't allow it.

Since he gave birth to Ryu, his parental instincts had increased exponentially. He was sure every other parent was like him, too. His Ryu was his world now. Every time he thought back about his early pregnancy period, he felt a little foolish. How could he ever even consider killing this miracle? Ahh… A young mind and foolishness often led people to do stupid things stupidly for such stupid reasons.

He couldn't imagine his life without Ryu now; he was either dead or dead. There was no other option.

Ryu tugged his hand, signaling that they had arrived at the Academy. Naruto's bad mood just now was lifted considerably when he looked down to see Ryu's excited face. Nobody was around—as expected—but Ryu was still enthusiastic. He ran as fast as he could—with the heavy bento dragging him down—into the Academy building. Naruto just took leisurely steps to catch up with Ryu's speed.

"Dada. Quick. The door."

"Hai, hai. Don't be so rash. You might hurt yourself. Hey, Ryu-chan-"

His speech was stopped dead.

His Ryu—his Ryu, damnit—was ignoring him to hug a-a man's leg, tugging at the said man's pant leg until he crouched down. Giggling happily, he started to play with the butt-head hair, yelling "kuku, kuku!" at the top of his lungs.

_Wha… Who… Why…No no no no no. This is not possible. Why is Ryu touching him?_

"Don't touch him, you bastard!!"

"Hn. Hello to you, too, usuratonkachi."

Ryu looked startled at his Dada's outburst. He began to cry when he smelled his Dada's changing mood—it was very strong; even from a distance he could smell it. Why was his Dada so angry? Was he mad at Ryu? But—but Ryu didn't do anything wrong.

"Dada. Huhu… Waaaaaaa," he wailed, afraid.

Sasuke was flabbergasted. What happened? One second this little demon was playing with his hair, and now he was crying—very loudly, too.

"What have you done to him?!"

Sasuke swore that Naruto's eyes were starting to turn red.

"Give him back to me!!" Naruto snatched the crying Ryu from Sasuke's lap.

"Don't you ever touch him again. You understand, Sasuke? I don't want you and your—your jerk-self near my son. Ever. Again."

"What the hell is your problem, Naruto? I didn't do anything. He was the one who hugged me. What's with the yelling? I can hear you well enough."

Ryu was still wailing, but Naruto couldn't keep calm. His nightmare was coming true. Sasuke had come back to take Ryu! His Ryu! Oh God! Oh God! What could he do? Sasuke-bastard was gonna take Ryu away from him. He even came to the day-care center—he must be plotting something. Shit!

Naruto was panicking.

He somehow knew that a day like this would eventually come. Sasuke would come back to Konoha, all the villagers would greet him with smiles and hugs, and—and he would take Ryu away from Naruto. Naruto knew this. And he was sooo stupid to still stay in Konoha. He should have just run away to live in a far-away land. But—but he didn't want Ryu to live in a far-away land, without friends and people he could call relatives. Naruto wanted Ryu to have a normal life.

Gahhh. Now that this damn bastard was here, he would ruin everything! The bastard would take Ryu away from him, and Naruto would be all alone. What—what should he do? He didn't want that to happen. He couldn't let that happen. Oh God, oh God, what could he do? He—he had to do something.

"What—what are you doing he-here, Sasuke? Aren't you supposed to be a-a missing ninja? What's a-a missing ninja doing at a day-care center? To steal milk bottles? Do you want their crayons? Huh? Huh? Why are you here Sasuke?! Why did you return? I-I will tell the old hag you are trying to steal stuff from the day-care center!!"

_I don't want you here, bastard. Please go! You are not needed here._

"Stop, usuratonkachi. What's wrong with you? I'm not stealing anything. I'm not gonna take your son, either. What are you thinking, stupid? Do I look like a kidnapper?"

"You aren't?" Naruto felt relief flood over him.

"Of course I'm not, you idiot. What good would come out of kidnapping that hyper child?"

_So, he doesn't know. Oh my freaking God, he doesn't know! He doesn't know. Oh God, oh God, thank you. Thank you!_

Naruto tapped Ryu's back gently—his cries had slowed down a bit.

"Wha-whatever! You, stay away from my son."

"Hn. Tell _your_ son to stay away from _me_. I don't appreciate being called 'Kuku.'"

"Fuc—I mean, puck off, Sasuke. He is just a child. Don't be such a jerk to children."

Naruto turned to leave—he didn't want to be in Sasuke's presence for much longer; it was dangerous for his sanity. He looked back one more time. "Stay. Away. From. Him. And I mean it, Sasuke," he said between gritted teeth—eyes still red—and finally left.

Sasuke took a step back from the raging mad mother-hen Naruto. Naruto might not have noticed, but he was really, really scary that way. As if he would happily rip apart anybody that came close enough.

And it didn't mean anything when Sasuke took a step back. Of course, not. Sasuke wasn't afraid of that dumb blond. No way. He just wanted to put a safe distance between himself and Naruto. You know, as not to further provoke the usuratonkachi—he didn't want to get into a fight with Naruto; a fight would damage his "performance." He didn't want that; the council might prolong his probation time two or three more years.

One of the terms from the council was that he couldn't fight, unless the fight was initiated by the opposite party. But, judging by this situation, even though he might claim that Naruto was the one who started the fight, nobody would believe him. Yeah, that much he could predict. Everybody would see this as Naruto acting in self-defense to protect his child; he, the ex-traitor, would be the bad guy—it fit the bill.

However, that didn't mean he didn't want to fight Naruto at all. Oh, hell no. He really, really, really wanted to fight that idiot. He really, really wanted to know how strong Naruto had become. Was he any better than Sasuke? If they were to fight fair and square, could he win against Sasuke? What about the Kyuubi? Those red eyes proved that the demon was still in him, but how strong was the bond between Naruto and the demon now? Sasuke was dying to know.

When he was first heard about Naruto and the Kyuubi, it gave Sasuke this painful feeling in his chest, because he thought that he might not surpass Naruto—the dobe. The Kyuubi was so powerful; there was no way Sasuke could get as much power. But who would have guessed that, even without that massive power, he could surpass Naruto. Why? Because now he knew he could handle the Kyuubi's power. No matter how strong the Kyuubi became, he could suppress its power with just a single hand. In other words, Sasuke could overpower it. Or, if he tried hard enough, he might manage to kill it.

He wanted to confirm this by fighting Naruto.

He would never have known about this ability if he hadn't defected from Konoha. Seriously, the Konoha villagers never told him anything about his family's abilities. Shouldn't the council or the Hokage or whoever knew have told him about it? Did he really have to run away from the village to obtain the information? He had a right to know, damnit. Did they think he could figure it out himself? Well, he was one in a decade, an Uchiha that had the ability of the Sharingan to control Kyuubi? Che, as if he could figure _that_ out—he didn't even know where to begin.

And apparently there were more secrets about the Uchiha clan than Sasuke thought existed. Remember the people at the old folk's home? The old people? Yeah, them. The first time Sasuke went there, they recognized the Uchiha clan symbol on his back immediately. And then, they started to ask him weird questions. Initially, Sasuke thought they were just old people doing what old people usually did—sprout nonsense to fill time and such.

The "Sasuke-ness" in him just wanted to ignore them. But his curiosity won the inner battle. What were these old people talking about? Hell, not only one, but almost three-quarters of the old people there were pestering him with questions of the same nature.

_Is he back to take his right? Is the Uchiha clan finally gonna take control again?_

What right? What control? Did he miss something? If this was just nonsense, why were the old people pestering him about it every time he went there? Well, he might as well look further into this. Maybe he would find something interesting—something interesting that even Itachi didn't know. He could start searching at the Uchiha Shrine—those old scrolls must contain something precious. Even if he didn't find anything, well, at least _this_ would make fixing the Uchiha district less dull.

Dull was an understatement. Really, fixing the Uchiha district by himself bored him to death, literally. That lazy-as-a-sloth bum was as good as a rain coat on a hot day when it came to helping Sasuke: totally and utterly useless. He had to do everything by himself—the reason why he never got to leave the Uchiha mansion; he had a lot to do. Even after more than a week in Konoha, he still had yet to visit his favourite onigiri stand, amongst other things.

He was thinking about abandoning the repairs once, but a lot of things prevented him from doing so. One of those things was his Uchiha pride, and he couldn't stop thinking that he was the only one left to carry on this heritage. So, he was stuck with this until he finished.

_I should hire somebody._

It was not like Sasuke didn't have the money to pay some people for that. On the contrary, he had enough money to last until his grandchildren had grandchildren.

_Not that I even have a child to have a grandchild._

This reminded him that he needed to see Tsunade-sama to seek help. He fervently hoped Tsunade-sama wouldn't make this difficult on him and just helped him along. Though, he doubted it—with all his heart—that the Hokage would cooperate with him that easily. The woman seemed to hate him and loved to make him miserable.

This reason always made him a bit jealous of Naruto. Tsunade-sama really adored him, and she would go to any length to make sure Naruto was happy. Furthermore, who would have thought, but Naruto already had a son. Boy, if that didn't make Sasuke jealous, he didn't know what would. Here he was, desperately in need of an heir and failing miserably every time he tried to have one, while that idiot already had a three-year-old!

Talk about karma!

Sasuke bet that Naruto didn't even plan to have one this young. He was pretty sure Naruto accidentally knocked up some girl and decided to have the child—being the good guy that he was. From his son's features, Sasuke predicted that the mother was probably Hinata because Naruto's son had black hair, although the eyes were a bit different. They were black.

_Those really expressive black eyes. It reminds me of someone, but I can't remember whom._

Someone that Sasuke was dead sure he knew, but for the love of him, he couldn't pinpoint the person.

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Hey. I changed the title; did you notice? As I wrote this chapter, I thought a new title would be better.

I rambled a lot in this.

Thanks for all the reviews. I tried my hardest to reply to all your questions. For the unregistered reviewers, thank you, too. You know, if you had registered, I could've answered the questions you asked.

Jaa… Till next time.

**Ohh… Excerpt from next chapter:**

"Seriously, if the little monkey bites me one more time, I'm gonna kill myself."

"You're over-exaggerating, Kiba."

"Hey, but it is true. Guys, we have to do something!"

"Yeah, those two stupid morons are idiots. And just because they dragged us in this too, I say they are totally troublesome."

"Geez, Shikamaru. That statement helps a lot, thankyouverymuch."


	11. Hear no Sasuke, Speak no Sasuke

Chapter 10: Hear no Sasuke, Speak no Sasuke – There is No Sasuke

**Edited by Obscure Omen**

Disclaimer: Naruto is © to Kishimoto, a Japanese mangaka.

A SasuNaru story. A slow kind.

Warning: A bit spoiler for recent chapters.

**Chapter 10: Hear ****No Sasuke, Speak No Sasuke—There is No Sasuke!**

Naruto was pacing up and down in Kakashi's house, subconsciously making a line in the carpet. He was agitated, nervous, afraid, mad, and shocked about what he just found out. The pacing was the least he could do to let off the steam. Or else, somebody could get hurt.

_Where the f-- is everyone?_

Naruto stopped his pacing for a bit to look around Kakashi's house. He desperately wanted to divert his attention to something else—preferably his friends, who were supposed to be here thirty minutes ago—still, no one showed up. Why was everyone so late?

Naruto resumed his pacing. Once in a while, his eyes darted to his son to check up on him. Ryu had calmed down considerably a little while ago, and now he was busy playing with the blocks Kakashi had bought him, sitting on the carpet of Kakashi's living room.

"Maaa… Calm down, Naruto. What happened, huh? You're giving me a headache with all the pacing," Kakashi said without lifting his eyes from his book—he was half-lying on the sofa reading his trademark perverted book (signed by yours truly in person). In actuality, he wasn't really bothered by Naruto's pacing, but he was a bit concerned about the line created in the carpet by said pacing; the carpet was an expensive gift from some leader of some country that he used to work with.

_I thought he__ was never gonna ask._

"Kakashi-sensei. Did you know that he's back? Like, for real, this time. Like—like he's in Konoha. I saw him, sensei. I saw him!"

Kakashi lowered his reading material at Naruto's agitated voice.

"Who?"

"Who?! Sasuke, of course! That teme is back. He is back and—and what I am supposed to do, sensei? He's back, damnit!"

"Hey, relax, Naruto." Kakashi's tone was serious. If what Naruto said was true, he had to meet and have a chat with the Uchiha heir; he needed to ask him something important.

"He's not doing any harm, is he? Did he threaten you or something? Is that why you are so afraid?"

"What?! No!! How could you say that?! Of course I'm not afraid of that bas—" here Naruto glanced at Ryu—he was being very careful not to use coarse words around his son, "I mean jerk-head. I can kick his a—err… behind easily-tebbayo!"

"Maaaaa, calm down, Naruto. You will upset Ryu."

Ryu did look a bit disturbed by Naruto's agitation and shout just now, but when Naruto reached down and kissed his temple, he went back to playing with his toys. Sighing heavily, Naruto plopped himself down on the nearest sofa.

"Calm, now?"

Naruto looked tiredly at his sensei.

"Yeah…"

"Okay. So, where are the rest of your friends? You said they would be coming here?" Kakashi deliberately changed the subject. Obviously, "Sasuke" was a disturbing subject for Naruto, and he didn't want to handle a disturbed Naruto, because that would mean he had to handle a disturbed Ryu, too. And by "disturbed," he meant a loud-high-wailing-and-crying Ryu; Kakashi loved his ears, even though he didn't often show it.

"Yeah, they said the other day that we all would meet here to see you. I don't know why they are so late."

So, the three occupants of Kakashi's house just sat there, waiting.

While, in the other side of the village—at Uchiha district, to be specific—a loud yell of "Where the hell are Naruto and Sasuke??" could be heard. Apparently, Naruto's friends were waiting there instead of at Kakashi's place.

"Hey, Ino, are you sure Sasuke stays here? The cemetery is less scary than this place." Kiba shivered.

"Auf, auf," Akamaru gave his agreement.

"Of course, I'm sure. Shikamaru told me." More like Ino forced Shikamaru to tell her.

"Then why is he not here? Maybe we are not fated to meet him today." Neji was still strong with his belief in fate.

"Or maybe he isn't home. Maybe he went out to meet Dickless." Sai gave everyone his patented smile.

"Hmm… E-everyone, may-maybe we should go n-now. W-we can come n-next week with N-Na-Naruto-kun."

"We can't, Hinata-chan. I have planned to meet Sasuke-kun today, or else I will walk around town on my hands 100 times!"

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Monday morning came again, along with the dreadful Monday morning syndromes. You know, that feeling of dread that makes you wanted to curl up under your blanket and just sleep and never wake up again.

Strangely, Ryu didn't seem to be infected by the syndrome. This morning, he woke up in a rather cheerful mood, different from his previous Monday mornings. He didn't mind if he had to go to school today, although he knew he couldn't be with his Dada till evening came.

Why?

Well, because he had Kuku, of course. He didn't have to worry about being separated from Dada anymore. Because—because Kuku smelled like Ryu. Dada also smelled like Ryu. Ryu liked Dada's and Kuku's smell; they made Ryu feel comfortable and calm and protected.

That was why Ryu woke up early today. Ryu wanted to help Dada make the bento quickly so Ryu could get to school quicker! But Dada said he would not make any bento or breakfast today. Dada said that—that the onigiri that Uncle Iruka made yesterday—Dada and Ryu had gone to Uncle Iruka's house on Sunday—were enough for breakfast. Ryu didn't mind one bit. Ryu liked onigiri! Lots and lots!

Ryu didn't really understand why, but after that visit to Uncle Iruka's house, Dada had become sad and quiet. So Ryu asked Dada, "Why Dada sad?" but Dada said he was not sad, he was just a bit tired. Then, Ryu told Dada to go to sleep, because Dada always told Ryu to go to sleep when Ryu was tired. Ryu even read a bedtime story to Dada! When Dada slept, Ryu hugged Dada and went to sleep, too.

This morning, Dada didn't look sad anymore, so after Ryu had finished with breakfast, Ryu told Dada that Ryu was ready to go. But—but Dada said Ryu wouldn't go to school today. Ryu didn't understand. Why wouldn't Ryu go to school today? Today was Monday, right? Monday was school day, right? Dada said, today Ryu had to stay with Uncle Kakashi while Dada went to work. When Ryu asked Dada "Why?" Dada said, "Uncle Kakashi is lonely. Surely Ryu doesn't want him to be lonely, right?"

Ryu nodded. Ryu didn't want Uncle Kakashi to be lonely but—but Ryu still wanted to go to school. Ryu started to sob. Ryu still didn't understand why he couldn't go to school. If Uncle Kakashi was lonely, why couldn't he come to school with Ryu? Ryu had a lot of friends. They could be Uncle Kakashi's friends, too. Ryu's friends were all nice.

Dada didn't want Ryu to cry, because Dada said if Ryu cried Dada would be sad, too. Ryu tried not to cry—Ryu didn't want Dada to be sad—so Ryu wiped Ryu's eyes with Ryu's shirt. Dada picked Ryu up and walked to Uncle Kakashi's house.

Uncle Kakashi's house was small. Ryu's house was bigger. But—but Uncle Kakashi had a swing! Ryu liked to play with the swing—Ryu could play with the swing all day! And—and Uncle Kakashi had a lot of dogs. Ryu counted them: There were eight all together! Ryu was afraid of the dogs, but—but one of the dogs could speak! He let Ryu rub his stomach and—and his stomach was round and—and soft and—and it had lots of hair! Ryu liked rubbing Pakkun's stomach.

So, it was okay. Ryu would stay with Uncle Kakashi today. So—so when Dada said,

"Be a good boy for me, okay?" Ryu nodded. Ryu would be a good boy. Staying with Uncle Kakashi was fun, but Ryu really wanted to go to school.

Well, never mind. Ryu still could go to school tomorrow.

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Tomorrow came, but Ryu still couldn't go to school. Ryu wanted to cry. Dada said Ryu had to stay with Uncle Kakashi again. Ryu asked, "Why? Uncle Kashi has dogs. Uncle Kashi not lonely."

Dada didn't answer, but Dada still wanted Ryu to stay with Uncle Kakashi. Ryu didn't want to go to Uncle Kakashi's house, so Ryu said, "Ryu want to go school. Can Ryu go school, Dada?"

Dada looked like he wanted to cry. He shook his head, so Ryu cried instead.

When Dada and Ryu arrived at Uncle Kakashi's house, Ryu immediately climbed onto the swing, but it was not really as fun as yesterday. Dada asked Ryu to be a good boy again today, too, but Ryu didn't nod. Ryu wanted to go to school.

"Hey Naruto, why can't you just let him go to school? Look at him. He's very sad."

Kakashi was a bit concerned about Ryu. After all, he was the one that had to look after the kid. The day was just about to start, and already the boy had started sulking—it would take sometime to cheer the boy up again.

"Kakashi-sensei, you know darn well why he can't go to school. That—that snack-minion is there! I can't trust him with my son!"

"Maa, but Iruka already told you it's the council who send him there. Surely he won't do anything stupid to his own students. I already talked to him—he's not going to attack anyone. Maybe you should talk to him, too."

"Like hell I will talk to him! This is stupid—let's not talk about that teme, okay, sensei? I need to go to work now. Thank you for looking after Ryu."

"Hmm, are you planning to send him here tomorrow, too? I have mission."

"Oh, is that so? It's okay. I'll try asking somebody else, then. Anyway, thanks, sensei. You are a great help." Naruto bowed to show his respect and appreciation and sped to his work place a second later.

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Ryu cried all the way to Uncle Kiba's house on Thursday morning. Ryu didn't want to go to Uncle Kiba's house. Uncle Kiba had very large dogs, and they were scary. Dada didn't want Ryu to cry, but Ryu was scared. Ryu didn't want to be here; Ryu wanted to go to school. Ryu wanted to see Kuku. Ryu wanted to see Ryu's friends. Ryu cried harder and hugged Dada tightly when Dada and Ryu arrived at Uncle Kiba's house. Ryu didn't want to let go.

Dada said Uncle Kakashi was not at home, and—and Aunt Sakura was busy and—and Granny Tsunade and—and Aunt Shizune were busy, too. Dada said Uncle Kakashi would be gone for a long time. So Ryu had to stay with Uncle Kiba.

Ryu hugged Dada tighter, never wanting to let Dada go. Uncle Kiba tried to take Ryu away from Dada, so Ryu bit him. Ryu really didn't want to stay with Uncle Kiba. Ryu was scared.

"Sorry, Kiba. I think he really doesn't want to stay with you," Dada apologized to Uncle Kiba. Why did Dada apologize to Uncle Kiba? Dada didn't do bad things. Uncle Kiba was the bad one; he made Dada apologize for nothing. Ryu hated Uncle Kiba!

"Yeah." Kiba looked at Ryu, who was glaring at him. "It was kinda obvious from the bite. Why did you bring him to me, then?"

"Nobody else is available."

"So? Just send him to school. From his loud wail just now, he likes school."

Naruto scowled.

"Yeah, I know. Sasuke is there, blah blah blah, but he's not doing anything bad, right? Before you knew he was there, you were okay with it. Look at him." Kiba pointed at the sobbing Ryu that was hugging Naruto like a koala. "I think he misses school—in more ways than one."

"Geez, thanks Kiba. Thanks for taking Sasuke's side. Such a wonderful friend you are."

"Hey, look here. I don't take anybody's side, okay? Even if I do, it will be this little monkey's side. Just—just look at him. He's—he's 'un-Ryu.'"

"I know." The words came out more like a sigh.

"If you know, then do something about it."

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In front of the Academy, Naruto was still unsure. Did he really, really want to leave Ryu here with that—that bastard? Ryu was already squirming to be let down, tugging at Naruto's vest to get his attention.

"Ryu-chan, are you sure you don't want to stay with Uncle Kiba? You can play with Uncle Kiba's dogs like you play with Pakkun. Uncle Kiba has a lot of dogs." Ryu shook his head defiantly. What part of "no" did his Dada not understand? He had cried and wailed "no" all the way to Uncle Kiba's house. His Dada was dense—as Ryu would later learn in life.

Naruto was powerless—the sad face Ryu was making was his ultimate weakness; it was also Ryu's personal weapon, and it was more powerful than any jutsu that Naruto had ever encountered. After four days straight of that sad-face attack, Naruto was forced to surrender.

Trying to console himself, Naruto listed out the pros and cons of leaving Ryu at the day-care center.

Pro: Ryu would be happy.

Con: Sasuke would be there.

Pro: Iruka-sensei would be there.

Con: Sasuke would be there.

Pro: Shikamaru would be around.

Con: Sasuke would be there.

Pro: Sasuke knew nothing about Ryu origin.

Con: Sasuke would be there.

Arghh… So what if he had fewer cons than pros?

He was worried, damnit. Still, Ryu wanted to go to school. Maybe—just maybe—this time he should just give in. It was already Thursday, anyway—another day and he could have Ryu all by himself. Naruto gulped. He really didn't want to leave Ryu here, but it looked like he didn't have any other choice; Ryu was still sniffling sadly, and by the look of it, Ryu would throw another temper-tantrum if he had to stay out of school for another day.

Naruto ruffled his hair with his free hand. He didn't really understand why Ryu was so bent on going to school. Couldn't Ryu "sniff" that Sasuke was a threat like he usually did? Naruto wanted to ask, but Ryu wouldn't talk to him now. Ryu was giving him the silent treatment—Ryu always did that when he was angry at his Dada.

Hesitantly, Naruto picked Ryu up and sauntered slowly to the day-care center; Ryu's mood quickly changed when he realized where he was being carried. To show his happiness, he showered his Dada with kisses on the cheek, but his Dada didn't seem to notice them. His Dada's face was very serious and quite scary. Ryu decided he didn't want to make his Dada angrier, so he just stayed quiet.

Upon facing Sasuke, Naruto face turned scarier—it emanated pure menace, really. Naruto couldn't help it; looking at Sasuke brought out many ugly emotions in him—the most prominent of which was anger.

He was freaking angry—or downright mad—at this shit-face that called himself Uchiha Sasuke. He was mad because Sasuke left the village for his own selfish reasons and made other people worry about him, mad because they had to fight very badly because of that. But most of all, Naruto was mad at him because this bastard had the gall to come back to Konoha—healthy and well—and demand to be reinstated like nothing had ever happened; Naruto heard this from Iruka-sensei.

Oh.

And—and Naruto was mad with Sasuke because he made Naruto pregnant, and he hadn't had the slightest clue as to what he had done. Okay, Naruto knew that was not a very solid reason to get mad at Sasuke, but, honestly, he didn't care. He needed someone to be his frustration's target, and as far as he was concerned, Sasuke was the perfect candidate.

Sasuke had to be. After all he was the one who—who was responsible for the pregnancy. And being pregnant was not easy: those lonely days and nights Naruto had to endure; the pain of giving birth; the feeling of having strange body parts grow on him; worrying to death and being scared shitless of raising a child alone. And the, err… penetration was as painful as hell, too!

Those—all of those—just made Naruto feel more angry at Sasuke.

And that was not all. This bastard also made Naruto insecure, too. The thing with insecurity was that it made Naruto edgy. When Naruto was edgy, he became easily irritable—he was prone to snarling at people for no reason and easily got angry.

Thus, when Sasuke gave Naruto his patented smirk, Naruto was so close to Rasengan-ing that bastard's face to pieces, but a pair of arms stopped him.

"Calm down, Naruto. There are children here."

Iruka was thankful he came to check up on Sasuke. If he hadn't come down to the day-care center, those two might have started something awful.

"Iruka-sensei. Please look after Ryu-chan." Although he was saying that, Naruto's eyes never left Sasuke's face.

"Shouldn't you say that to me, Uzumaki-san? I am Ryu's teacher, after all." Sasuke couldn't help but provoke the angry Naruto—it was funny.

"Why, you!!" Iruka tried to restrain the raging Naruto and dragged him out of the Academy.

"Naruto! Please behave yourself. Ryu will be fine here. I'll make sure of that, okay?"

Naruto gave a slight "hmmph" and shrugged himself from Iruka's restraining arms.

"Don't worry, Naruto. He won't do anything bad. You know better than anyone else that he is not a mean person."

_Why is everybody taking Sasuke's__ side? Even Iruka-sensei took his side. They just don't understand. Fu-k you, Sasuke. I freaking hate you!_

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Four months flew by, and Naruto still bristled in Sasuke's presence. Ryu attendance to school was not as frequent, either—whenever someone was available, Ryu would be forced to stay with them. Naruto was not taking any chances; he didn't want Ryu and Sasuke to get close.

If he was left with no choice but to drop Ryu at school, the day-care center would witness a one-sided fight on Naruto's side. Sasuke would purposely provoke the agitated Naruto, and Naruto would instantly take the bite. Luckily, they had Iruka—or sometimes Shikamaru—to keep the situation under control. Because of this kind of situation, many parents started to question Sasuke's ability as a teacher; the Academy was not happy with this—these kinds of complaints could tarnish the Academy's credibility.

But, other than that, Naruto avoided Sasuke like a plague. If he saw Sasuke walking down the road, Naruto would gladly take the roundabout way just to avoid him. Or he would hide somewhere around the corner until Sasuke passed through.

Or, when Sasuke by chance came to the same restaurant or stall Naruto was visiting, Naruto would quickly leave the place—without even waiting to pay his bill; his friends who were with him at the moment would have to pay for him.

Or if they—Sasuke and Naruto—happened to go shopping at the same time, at the same shop, on the same aisle, Naruto would do anything to get Sasuke out of his way. Usually when that happened, he would push Sasuke's trolley away from the aisle. Then Sasuke had to track down his trolley, and Naruto would get the aisle all to himself—no Sasuke to annoy him. Or he would kick Sasuke's shopping basket so the goods spilled out and Sasuke had to go find them all over again.

These silly revenges on Sasuke made Naruto a little bit happy. He felt a little bit childish doing that, but whatever—as long as he could get Sasuke out of the way.

Sometimes, when he was about to leave the Academy and saw Sasuke's shoes, he would stomp on them and walked away satisfied (Japanese people leave their shoes outside at school). And—and when Naruto found out that Sasuke had to go to the folk's home, too, he spread a rumour that Sasuke was an excellent singer to the old folks. The next day he heard Sasuke was forced to sing enka songs for hours.

_Hahahah__a…Take that, Sasuke-bastard._

There was nothing as sweet as revenge.

But somehow, it was kind of weird, because even though Naruto was trying to avoid meeting Sasuke at all costs, he seemed to meet Sasuke more often than usual: Sasuke would always pop up at the restaurants he was eating at or the shop he was shopping at or the road he was walking on. As if Sasuke knew he was gonna be there.

Nah… That didn't make any sense, right? How could Sasuke know his whereabouts?

"You deliberately do that, don't you? You know he is avoiding you, and you purposely go to places he goes." Sasuke and Shikamaru were eating ramen when this conversation emerged—Naruto was there a mere second ago with Chouji.

"Hn."

"Stop that, Sasuke-kun. Look, I have to pay for his meals again," Chouji complained, gesturing to the stacks of ramen bowl. He and Kiba were always the victims of Naruto's see-Sasuke-and-run incidents.

"You actually think that it's funny, don't you? Well, I don't think Naruto shares the same thought." It was Shikamaru's way of telling Sasuke to stop teasing Naruto.

"Hn, but you have to admit, that idiot's reactions are funny." Sasuke couldn't help himself; Naruto's reactions when he saw Sasuke were really funny—it was some kind of entertainment to Sasuke; he just had to tease Naruto. Also, Sasuke had his suspicions about who was responsible for his ruined shoes and the singer rumour. This was kinda like Sasuke's own little revenge.

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However, because of their little silent war, the impact was strongly felt by the people surrounding them—of which those two were oblivious.

Four months of this silent torture later, Naruto's friends made a decision to tackle this issue themselves. After 145 secret memos and messages later, they agreed to meet at a secluded bar outside of Konoha—a secret meeting place was important so that Naruto or Sasuke couldn't find them easily.

"Seriously, if the little monkey bites me one more time or I have to pay for his ramen again, I'm gonna kill myself." Kiba started the meeting when nobody made any sign to talk.

"You're over-exaggerating, Kiba."

"Hey, but it is true. Guys, we have to do something!"

"Yeah, those two stupid morons are idiots. And just because they dragged us in this too, I say they are totally troublesome."

"Geez, Shikamaru. That statement helps a lot, thankyouverymuch."

"G-guys, let's not fight over this. We came here to find a solution." Hinata was always the peace-maker in their little group.

"What do you suggest, Sakura? After all, you know them better than the rest of us." At Shikamaru's question, all eyes turned to Sakura.

"Err… Well, those two always solved their, err… differences by fighting or insulting each other. When I was younger, I thought it was a bad thing, but fighting and insulting strangely worked with them. But now, they hardly speak to each other, so those techniques can't be the solution anymore."

"But, the way I see it, we just have to make them talk or insult or fight each other—whichever comes first." Everyone was waiting for Neji to continue his suggestion, but he just kept quiet.

"How can we do that? I don't care if they have to fight to the death or whatever, but _this_—" By "this" Kiba meant Sasuke and Naruto's silent war, "—has to stop."

"Yeah, I can't take any more complaints from the shopkeepers about Naruto and Sasuke's dispute. I deliver food to them every day, you know." That was Chouji.

"Troublesome. I also don't want to answer to those concerned parents who have seen Naruto try to kill Sasuke every damn time he drops his son off. The council has also started to butt in. If it gets worse, Sasuke can be expelled." Shikamaru might be exaggerating a little with the expel thing, but he needed everyone's serious attention.

"Anoo, I-I also don't want to see Ryu's sad face every time Naruto leaves him in my care. Ryu really likes to go to school."

There was a chorus of "Yeah, me, too" from everyone (except Kiba) when Hinata mentioned that.

"I say we just set up a meeting for the both of them."

"What do you mean by that, Shikamaru? If you haven't noticed, Naruto really thinks Sasuke is a disease that needs to be avoided."

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On the Saturday of that week, Kurenai-sensei came to visit Naruto and Ryu at their house.

"Asuma misses his best friend—Ryu has been absent for three days. I hope I'm not intruding by coming here."

"Eh… No, no. Not at all, Kurenai-sensei. I'm sure Ryu will be happy to see his best friend, too. See, they already started on the blocks." Naruto laughed guiltily—Ryu missing school was his fault.

"Naruto-kun, you look a bit thin. You must be working too hard. Has work been busy lately?"

"Well, maybe, I didn't notice. Don't worry, Kurenai-sensei, I am fine-tebba."

"Are you sure? Why don't you go out and have some fun, Naruto? Meet your friends, maybe? When was the last time you hung out with them? Don't worry about Ryu-kun. I'll look after him."

"Ehh, but-"

"It's okay, Naruto-kun. You see, you have to look after yourself, too. If you are sick, who's going to look after Ryu-kun, then?"

Naruto was hesitant but couldn't win against Kurenai-sensei's heavy persuasion. At last, he agreed to go out for a drink.

On the way to his destination, he met Sai.

"Hey, Dickless, fancy meeting you here. Wanna have a drink with me?"

It was kinda suspicious that Sai was near his house, but he agreed to go with Sai nonetheless.

When they reached the dango stand, Naruto noticed most of all his friends were there.

"Hey, Naruto. Fancy meeting you here," they all chorused, as if they had practiced it.

"Yeah, fancy meeting you all here, too," Naruto said and quickly took the empty seat between Shikamaru and Neji. He didn't know why, but all of his friends seemed nervous.

"Usuratonkachi, that is my seat."

Uh-oh. Even if he had been deaf, he couldn't mistake that irritating voice.

In a flash, Naruto stood up and was preparing to leave the dango stand when he heard Shikamaru's lazy voice. "Ahh… I didn't know Naruto was such a coward."

"It is Konoha's ill-fate to have such a ninja here," Neji coolly sipped his drink while he said that.

"True, Dickless is really a girl."

And that did it.

"What did you say, Sai?! Are you saying I'm afraid of this jerk?" At this point, Naruto was pointing rudely at Sasuke's head.

And to prove his point, he took a seat across from Sasuke.

"If you think I'm afraid of this bastard, think again."

Naruto sat there, staring straight into Sasuke's eyes. Actually, he really felt a bit nervous doing that, but he wasn't about to tell that to anyone soon.

"Hn. You could have fooled everyone, usuratonkachi. I thought I saw you running in fear when you saw me on the street."

Oohh, Sasuke was looking for trouble.

"Che. That's because your face just annoys me, jerk. Why don't you just wear a paper bag over your head? It saves everybody from throwing up from looking at your shit-face."

Sasuke glared—it was so intense, people in the stall stopped talking. Even Naruto felt a chill creep up his spine.

"What?! Now, you wanna fight, huh?" Naruto couldn't stand being glared at like that; he just had to say something—even though it was something stupid like challenging Sasuke to a fight.

Because the stall had become deadly silent, everybody could hear Sasuke scoff, "Like I wanna fight a weakling like you. My time is too precious for that."

Naruto immediately stood up and grabbed the front of Sasuke's shirt. His blood was boiling. Being called a girl was one thing, but being called a weakling was a total taboo.

"I'll show you, you bastard Sasuke!!"

They quickly transported themselves to a secluded training ground. For the people who paid attention, they could see Sasuke smirk just before he vanished from his spot.

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Not many people could tell, but Uchiha Sasuke was a bit happy at the moment. It had already been four months since he last had a real fight—he was not allowed to have any sort of fight during his probation period unless the other party started it first—so this fight with Naruto made him a bit giddy.

And it was definitely Naruto who started it first. People at the dango stall could testify to that. He was glad Naruto was dumb and easily took his bait. That dobe would never learn—always rushing in without thinking.

Just like at this moment. Naruto was running toward him, hoping to land a blow on his chest. Che, like Sasuke would let that happen. He dodged a half-second before the blow could land.

"Damnit, you bastard! Don't just stand there! Fight me!"

"If your skill level is this low, I don't have the intention to fight you."

_Ahh, he's getting angrier. __I can see he's drawing the Kyuubi's chakra already._

They had been fighting for about an hour now, but Sasuke still wasn't aggressively attacking, which made Naruto frustrated and angry. He just stood there, looking all smug and dodging Naruto's attacks gracefully. This kind of attitude really, really grating on Naruto's nerves; it was like Sasuke was looking down on Naruto's ability as a ninja.

Like he always did when they were younger.

Unconsciously, because of his anger, Naruto drew on more and more of the Kyuubi's chakra—the whiskers on his face began to deepen, and his fangs became longer.

Once again, Naruto lunged at the standing Sasuke. But this time, instead of dodging it, Sasuke held out his right hand palm toward Naruto's face. When Naruto was near enough, he touched Naruto's head briefly. Without any warning, both of them dropped to the ground, unconscious.

Not a moment after that, they were facing the Great Demon Kyuubi.

"Soooo, it is you again, Uchiha. Your eyes really look like that Madara's."

Sasuke kept silent even though Kyuubi was addressing him. This was the second time he was face to face with the Kyuubi like this—he was still not used to it. All that power emanating from the Kyuubi scared him a bit.

"Oi, brat," the Kyuubi addressed Naruto. "What do you want? And you brought your mate, too, I see. What? Do you want to introduce him to your elder?" the Kyuubi cracked a joke and laughed at it. His laugh shook the floor, but both men were too stunned by what Kyuubi said to notice that the old demon actually tried to make a joke.

"What mate?" "Shut up, you damn Kyuubi!" they both said simultaneously.

"What is this, brat? He doesn't know? Tsk, tsk, tsk. He's the father, you know."

The Kyuubi laughed again; it was such a pleasure to see that ungrateful brat being embarrassed like this—served him right for disrespecting the Great Demon Kyuubi.

"You, Uchiha brat. You really don't know, do you?" At the astonished face Sasuke was making, Kyuubi could guess he really didn't have a clue.

"Shut up, Kyuubi! Shut—"

Kyuubi ignored Naruto and continued on with his speech, "You had a son with this brat here."

"—up, you damn, giant furball!! Don't say anything—"

"You, shut up, you annoying brat! I can talk what I bloody want. Obviously, there's something you two have to talk about. Don't come bothering me with your lover's spat. Now, leave!"

They were back on the training ground.

Sasuke looked dumbfounded, and Naruto was scared shitless.

Now what? Should he run like a coward or wait here like a fool? Which was the better option, a coward or a fool?

Before he could make that decision, Sasuke's question cut off his line of thought.

"Is it true, what the Kyuubi said just now?" Sasuke's eyes were scarily intense when he asked that.

"Ba-baka! How can you believe such a ridiculous thing?" Naruto's voice sounded confident, but he didn't dare to look at Sasuke in the face when he answered that.

"So, what Kyuubi told just now is true, eh?"

"Wh-what? How did you come up with a conclusion like that?! I said—"

"I heard what you said. It does sound ridiculous, but I don't think the Kyuubi would lie, which means what it said is true."

Naruto's heart pounded so hard, he had to put a hand over it to make sure it stayed inside.

_Sasuke know__s. What now?_

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Okay. That's it. Now, Sasuke knows. What's going to happen? Is Naruto going to deny it till the end? Does he have to run away now? Is Sasuke going to take Ryu away?

Kui kui kui… I don't know myself. Well, I do know, but… Kui kui kui.

Till the next chapter. Jaa.

**Legend:**

**Kuku phonetic pronunciation of**** "cuckoo"**

**Onigiri rice ball with a seaweed wrapping**

**Kyuubi nine-tailed fox demon**

**-tebba/-tebbayo Naruto's way of ending his speech to sound more manly ( I think).**

**P****/S: I do that in really life. My sentences always end with "–right." Oh, but not because I want to sound more manly; it's just the way I talk.**


	12. A New Stalker in Town

Edited by Obscure Omen

Disclaimer: Naruto is © to Kishimoto, a Japanese mangaka.

A SasuNaru story. A slow kind.

Warning: Nothing. Just Sasuke acting weird.

**Chapter 11: A New Stalker in Town**

Sasuke blamed the Academy. It was totally and utterly the Academy's fault for teaching false and untrue things to its students.

An example?

For example, teaching the students that pregnancy is exclusively for females. That—from what he had just discovered a few hours ago—was totally bogus. He had a living example to support that:

Naruto.

Yeah, Naruto—the dead-last and most surprising ninja in Konoha village—"had" a baby. As in, he was the mother of the baby, and, even more incredulously, Sasuke was the father!

Sasuke banged his head once against the wall. Many would describe his situation as miserable, but, for Sasuke, he felt so many emotions that he couldn't settle on one. All he could say was that he was a bit confused. He didn't know what to choose: the illogical truth or the logical lies.

Sure, he said that he didn't think Kyuubi was lying when it said what it said. In fact, he was pretty sure that the demon was telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. There was no way that the Kyuubi would suddenly lie. Why would it? The demon didn't have a reason to; it didn't even want to communicate with humans if it could help it.

The demon would kill itself before it had to make casual conversation with humans, let alone making a joke or lie about male pregnancy. Seriously, why would the demon make a joke about that? Nobody would—at least, Sasuke had never heard anybody crack such a joke.

Which only meant one thing, if the big, bad demon hadn't lied or tried to crack a joke: It was all true. So, naturally, Sasuke believed the Kyuubi's words.

But that was not exactly the problem he was facing now.

Believing the Kyuubi's words didn't mean that he could easily accept the facts. He was born and raised and taught the fact that men couldn't get pregnant, but suddenly, bammm….

"Naruto," "pregnant," and "Sasuke's child" were forced to be used in a single sentence. How many arrangements can one make from those words and not mean something suggestive? Something that didn't imply that Naruto was pregnant with Sasuke's child?

None.

Ah-ha… What a joke. Sasuke really thought (wished) this was only a joke played by Naruto on him—Naruto's way to get back at him. He feverishly wished, for once, that Naruto finally could get him under a genjutsu or manage to drug his drink without being detected and—and made up all that he heard and saw at the training ground two hours ago.

Sasuke laughed dryly.

Like Naruto was smart enough to come up with such an elaborate joke—that guy had an intellect of a five-year-old. If he thought too much, that usuratonkachi would throw up from all the gears turning in his head.

Ha… haa…

Which meant that Sasuke was left with no other choice; he had to accept the illogical truth.

Ha… haa…

Naruto was pregnant—illogical truth number one.

Naruto was pregnant with Sasuke as the other contributor—illogical truths one and two.

Naruto had a child—logical truth number one.

Naruto had _his _child—logical truth number two.

Naruto had a child with Sasuke—illogical truth number three.

_Ha… haa. What a fucked-up world. He had my child. My child. The heir that I want. The next Uchiha. The Uchiha Sasuke's Uchiha._

Sasuke's dry laugh—ricocheting eerily in the empty Uchiha mansion—was scary. He looked like an insane person, laughing by himself like that; he might as well be one if he didn't calm his nerves down now. So he decided to take a bath to calm his nerves.

His family house had an incredible hot tub that was really comfortable to soak in. For Sasuke, the tub was his escape, his get-away, a place where he gathered his scattered mind and calmed his frayed nerves. He himself didn't know why it did, but maybe it was because his element was fire, so water always managed to calm him down.

Yeah, that must be it.

Sasuke put a finger in the water to check the temperature. Satisfied with the temperature and the water level, he got into the tub, careful not to disturb the water too much so the floor wouldn't get wet—that would waste his work fixing the tiles on the floor diligently all of last week.

Ahhh… This was heavenly. As Sasuke thought, there was no other feeling like relaxing in a tub with the perfect water temperature. Bit by bit, he could almost feel his mind beginning to relax, lulled by the water's swaying motions.

Sasuke dunked his head in the water, holding his breath as long as he could. To be able to hold his breath for so long underwater, he had to concentrate on his breathing—_only­ _his breathing. It was a kind of meditation; every ninja learned it. By focusing entirely on his breathing, his mind became clear—void of everything except for the feel of water surrounding his body.

After a long while, Sasuke came up, mind clear and body relaxed. Staring at the wall in front of him, he began to organize his thoughts. This time, his mind was not confused—he wouldn't let confusion affect his thinking now. Surprisingly, the first thing that registered in his mind was this:

"I have an heir now," Sasuke said aloud. The fact hit him hard, as if someone literally dropped a brick on his head. With this turn of events, he had accomplished part of his second goal. If only he had a bunch of heirs (or heiresses), the goal would be complete.

Well, that wouldn't be a problem, would it? Because since he had one, he could always have more, couldn't he? Didn't he promise himself to marry the first woman who gave birth to his child? He could always go back to that woman, ask her hand in marriage, and make more Uchiha babies.

Yeah, it shouldn't be a problem… If only "that woman" was a woman. Sasuke could only imagine Naruto's reaction if he really asked him to be his wife. Naruto would go all Kyuubi on him and eat him alive!

And, from what he could see, Naruto was definitely not a woman. Although he looked a little feminine (and cute, if Sasuke dared to admit it to himself), he was definitely male.

_So, how did Naruto get pregnant? Can he do it again?_

Blushing at his untamed thought, Sasuke decided to ignore it. He also decided to ignore the answer his mind supplied to his own question—the mechanism by which Naruto was impregnated—with a bright blush on his face. This was so uncool. He was not supposed to blush from such thoughts. If somebody saw him like this, he would never live it down.

Avoiding the issue, he got out of the tub and prepared himself for sleep. Today was full of unexpected surprises and excitement (compared to any other day), and he felt emotionally tired and chose to go to bed early.

Two hours later, he was still wide awake. The curiosity still gnawing at his mind made him toss and turn in bed. There was so much that he needed to know, especially about Naruto's pregnancy, that was keeping him from falling to sleep. He couldn't be mistaken about Naruto being a guy, could he? He was pretty sure Naruto didn't have, err… breasts. Or did he? Maybe he did. Sasuke never got a good look. Maybe Naruto was a woman in disguise?

Maybe later he could find a way to take a peek at Naruto's chest. Or, better yet, at Naruto's privates. He had to find out.

…………….

What the hell was he thinking? That didn't sound right at all! And why—why, oh why—did he feel excited about it? Sasuke hit his knee with his palm repeatedly to bring down his "excitement." **(1)** Getting excited thinking about Naruto and the private parts of his body was fundamentally wrong!

Groaning miserably, Sasuke covered his head with a pillow. What in seven hells made him react like that?

Ah… This must have something to do with him being a healthy and hormonal 20-year-old man. Yeah, it had to be that. That was the only excuse Sasuke could come up with. Otherwise, there had to be something wrong with his head.

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When Sasuke implied that he believed what the Kyuubi said, Naruto knew only one thing:

He wanted to be a coward.

So he ran away from the scene, his heart still pounding loudly.

He ran and ran and ran, never once stopping to look if Sasuke was chasing after him. Because he knew that if he stopped for even a moment to think, he would begin to panic, and panic was not the best course of action now. When he panicked, he tended to lose his head—and he needed his head now more than any other time. He needed to think.

He needed to—to put a large distance between him and Sasuke (for now). He needed to find his son. He needed to see him. He needed to make sure that he was alright. He needed to see Ryu.

_Calm down, Naruto. Don't panic, don't panic._

Naruto was talking to himself.

_See, Ryu is okay. He's sleeping now. He's still here. Still with you._

Naruto was looking at Ryu's sleeping form from the outside of Kurenai-sensei's house. There was a window nearby that let him see inside.

Subconsciously, his feet had brought him here. He didn't even know that Kurenai-sensei would bring Ryu here. It must have been his maternal instincts that knew such thing. He must have been out too long (for a drink), and since it was already dark, Kurenai-sensei brought Ryu back to her house for a sleepover. She must have thought Naruto wouldn't be home until late.

Naruto knocked lightly on the door, hesitating a little bit. He was considering leaving Ryu here for the night, because Ryu was already asleep. But, he knew that if he didn't bring Ryu home tonight, he wouldn't get any sleep. That was his selfish side. He needed to make sure that Ryu was always near him and safe in his arms.

Kurenai-sensei opened the door with a slight frown and a smile, politely inviting Naruto in. Shaking his head as an answer, Naruto told her that he just wanted to take Ryu home and thanked her again for her kindness. Kurenai-sensei just nodded her head and bid Naruto a good night when they reached the door again.

Ryu whimpered a little when he was disturbed from his sleep but didn't wake up. Naruto gently cradled him near his chest and walked quickly home; the night had gotten too cold, and Ryu's attire was thin—he didn't want Ryu to catch a cold. After ten minutes, they reached home.

Naruto brought Ryu straight to their bed and put him under the blanket. Once again, Ryu whimpered as he lost the heat emanating from Naruto's close body. To make sure Ryu went back to sleep, Naruto brushed Ryu's hair gently with his hand while murmuring sweet, gentle words. With that, Ryu went back to sleep, clutching his favorite pillow.

Naruto changed his clothes and brushed his teeth before going back to bed with Ryu. As silently as he possibly could, he got under the covers and hugged Ryu close.

_What am I going to do with you? I love you too much to leave this village behind. You would not like it if we left this village, right, Ryu? What am I going to do now? Your "father" knows. I wonder if you know that he's your father. Is that why you like him so much?_

Naruto kissed Ryu's head while observing his sleeping face. He was proud to say that Ryu looked exactly like him (minus the whisker marks): the nose, the mouth, and even the eyebrows. Only the black eyes were different and—and the high cheek-bones; those were Sasuke's.

And the black hair, too. There was a reason why he kept Ryu's hair long and tied it up in a ponytail. If Ryu's hair was short, it would spike up, just like Sasuke's—one look, and people would know they were related.

But, now that Sasuke knew, there was no reason to hide these similarities, right? Sasuke had probably told everyone about the secret. And he would have to give up Ryu. And the council would kill his son for being a monster's child. And—and he would be forced to leave the village and die alone in a gutter somewhere.

A lone tear escaped Naruto's eye. Ahh… He hated it when he was like this. Whenever problems came up regarding his son, he always lost his cool. He was hopeless. He didn't remember being this emo when he was younger, even though life treated him badly. He didn't remember being this afraid of losing anything or anyone.

Until Ryu.

Maybe it was because he couldn't remember loving someone so much before. And he didn't expect loving someone also came with the "side-dishes" like worry, anxiety, pain, worry, panic, and more worry.

Naruto buried his face in Ryu's soft, black hair, taking in the scent while seeking courage not to cry from it, too. He needed to be tough now. He couldn't continue moping like this. Sasuke was a problem he needed to face. Fast.

He was not sure what the best thing to do to solve his problem with Sasuke. But first, he would wait for Sasuke's reaction. Honestly, Naruto didn't know how Sasuke would react after he found out—he didn't wait to see Sasuke's reaction. If Naruto was lucky, Sasuke would ignore it all and pretend that nothing had happened.

Yes, on that note, Naruto felt it was better to wait for Sasuke's reaction. There was a good chance that Sasuke didn't tell this secret to anyone yet—doing that was not like Sasuke.

If not, he had to convince—threaten—that bastard to keep the secret by any means possible.

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Naruto hid himself and Ryu in his house on Sunday. He didn't want to meet anyone. He was still in the process of gathering up his courage to confront Sasuke on Monday. Fortunately for him, nobody came searching for him on Sunday, either. Actually, he was half-expecting Sasuke to come and demand an explanation from him, but that never came—Naruto was relieved; he wasn't ready to face Sasuke yet.

Monday. On Monday, he would face that bastard for sure. He had already made the necessary preparations: He had perfected his angry glare, informed his employer that he would be absent on Monday, and also readied himself to fight Sasuke if he asked for one.

When Monday came, Naruto purposely came late to the Academy. He knew Sasuke would be there, as always, so he didn't need to search for him anywhere else. He came late because he didn't want to meet other parents that came to drop their children. This was between Sasuke and him; nobody needed to know.

As always, Sasuke greeted them at the door. His posture was calm and collected—without any signs that something life-altering had happened two days ago: no weird glances, no strange body language. He was as cool as a cucumber.

Naruto was left speechless.

Here he was, ready to battle, but Sasuke didn't seem to be concerned. Ohh… Naruto was relieved. He was definitely relieved, alright. Did this mean that he could pretend that nothing happened? Naruto's mouth was beginning to form a grin when Sasuke spoke to him.

"Bring him to school every day. I won't let my s—" Sasuke was cut off by Naruto's hand covering his mouth. Horrified with what Sasuke was about to say, Naruto closed the door to the day-care center and dragged him to a deserted area in the Academy.

When they came to a stop, Sasuke pulled Naruto's hand from his mouth before the urge to lick the palm became stronger. He didn't know what was happening to him lately, but the news about Naruto carrying his child made him look at Naruto in a different light. A scary kind of light.

"Wha-what are you trying to say, Sasuke? I—"

"What I was trying to say is that I won't let my son miss his class again." This time it was Sasuke who cut off Naruto's speech.

"You!! Don't say that so casually! He's not yours. He's mine!!"

"Whatever, usuratonkachi. We both know whom he belongs to."

Naruto was stunned for a second. Was Sasuke serious? He didn't just say that, did he?

"Look, Sasuke." Naruto's voice was trembling. "Don't—don't say something that makes other people confused, you bastard. This—this is not funny."

"There's nothing confusing in what I said. Ryu is my s—" Once again Naruto cupped Sasuke's mouth.

"No, you can't say that. _I _am his parent. _I _am his father. You—you can't be his father; people will—"

"Will think it's weird? You don't want people to know, do you? Then you better do what I say. Let him come to school every day. I don't want him to skip any more school days." With that, Sasuke left Naruto there, gaping after him.

In all honesty, Sasuke didn't mean to blackmail Naruto like that. That was a low tactic to use, but seeing Naruto's determined eyes triggered the knowledge that Sasuke had to do something, or he would never get to see his son again. He was dead sure that Naruto wouldn't let him see Ryu outside of school—school was the only place he got to see his son.

The reason he made Naruto promise to bring Ryu to school every day was simple: Sasuke wanted to know his son a little better. He, somehow, wanted Ryu to know that, apart from Naruto, he had another parent—he wanted Ryu to know that he was his father. However, he couldn't tell Ryu directly like that—that would probably shock the boy, and Ryu might distance himself from him; he didn't want to take that risk.

As long as they were together in school, he would take time to get to know his son and his son to get to know him. Furthermore, Sasuke was not an expert on this parenthood thing. Still, at this moment, he was not sure what he was supposed to do to make Ryu acknowledge him as his father.

On the bright side, Ryu seemed to like him already, although being called "Kuku" was a bit disheartening. He was surprised himself to find out that he couldn't wait for the time that Ryu would call him "Father," "Papa," or "Oto-san." Sasuke made it his mission to teach Ryu to call him one of those names—it would be a nice change from being called "Kuku."

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Naruto couldn't believe that Sasuke would blackmail him like that. That sly bastard! What was he planning? What was so important that he wanted Naruto to bring Ryu to school every day? He better not be planning to do anything weird, because… against his own judgment, Naruto would send Ryu to school everyday from now on. He didn't want Sasuke to tell anybody about their secret.

However, that didn't mean he would let things go as it was that easily—he would keep an eye on anything suspicious.

Days went by, but nothing weird happened between him, Ryu, and Sasuke. Sasuke didn't make any move to take his Ryu away. Nothing had changed; it was just like before Sasuke knew that Ryu was his son. And Naruto was glad about it. Naruto noticed that Iruka-sensei and Shikamaru were also glad. Sasuke and Naruto didn't fight like they used to do a few days ago. Which meant no more commotion at the day-care center and therefore fewer complaints from parents.

Naruto also noticed that his friends were happier about something. What he didn't notice was the reason that made them happier: The cold war between Sasuke and Naruto seemed to have ended. Although Naruto was still avoiding Sasuke like a plague, Sasuke didn't purposely appear out of nowhere—like he used to do before—to annoy Naruto. And that was good news to them.

The only change that Naruto felt was… Well, he felt like somebody was watching him. He could feel a pair of eyes following his every move, especially in the evening and when he was at home. There was this one time when he felt an intense stare when he was taking a bath alone after he put Ryu to sleep. It was creepy as hell. What kind of people wanted to spy on a 20-year-old man taking a bath?

The first few times it happened, Naruto just ignored it, because he thought it was only his over-active imagination—he blamed it on his worry over the Sasuke and Ryu matters that made him slightly paranoid, made him think he was being stalked.

However, that feeling of being watched had continued for two weeks now, and it confirmed that it was not just his imagination. There was really someone who watched his every move; the stares got pretty intense when he was taking a bath.

Oh. My. God. He had a pervert stalking him now. That was just great. He didn't even know that there was that kind of pervert in the small village. And why the pervert chose him was another mystery. Naruto's guess was that the pervert might have confused him with someone else. Definitely confused, because he was not stalk-material.

After two weeks or so—without an end to the stalking—Naruto decided to catch the perverted stalker. Well, you might ask why Naruto didn't do this sooner, right? Well, he tried, but the stalker was good. So good, in fact, that Naruto couldn't catch him that easily. Naruto bet three bowls of ramen that the stalker must be at least a jounin, if not an ANBU. Every time he looked back in the direction he could feel the stare coming from, there was no one there—it was like there was no one there to begin with. The stalker was that good.

So today, he set up a little "stage"—if you want to call it that. He put Ryu to sleep early today and went to the bathroom for a shower, as usual. But this time, he slowly took off his clothing—like a striptease—and watched around him from the corner of his eyes as not to look so suspicious. If his prediction was true—that his stalker was some kind of pervert—they would fall to his trap.

Ah-hah. And fell they did. Naruto could see their eyes. They were red and spinning. But the moment Naruto turned to look at the eyes better, they were gone.

Naruto was fuming. He knew to whom those eyes belong. Stupid bastard!

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On Saturday, Naruto set up another trap. This time he would definitely catch the stalker red-handed. He had to, because if he confronted the stalker face-to-face, he wouldn't admit it. So, he had to catch him red-handed.

In order to do that, he had to be alone. So, he sent Ryu to Kurenai-sensei's house for a sleepover. Ryu was overjoyed that he could stay at his best friend's house, so it was no problem. Naruto bid goodbye to Ryu and promised to pick him up tomorrow morning.

After that, he headed to his favourite training ground. At this particular hour (just after dusk), no one was around; this was great. It was just perfect for his plan. So, he started to train by himself. Not long after, he could feel the stare. Naruto ignored it. He continued to train, producing his kage bunshin—a lot of them—to spar with him.

However cold the night could be, sparring still made him sweat. So, Naruto took off his jacket and threw it randomly to the side. He continued sparring with his kage bunshin, ignoring wholeheartedly the stalker's stare. After a while, he took off his shirt, and suddenly:

"Now!" Naruto shouted to the open field.

All the kage bunshin hurriedly ran to a spot, standing in a circle to block the stranger's pathway.

"I know you are there, Sasuke. Don't you dare try to run away, you bastard!"

Sasuke dropped from the tree he was perched in. He was too careless while looking at Naruto's chest, so it made sense that he'd get caught. It was embarrassing to say the least—to get caught by your stalkee**(2)**. He should practice more on his stalking technique. Damn. He should have known this was just a trap.

"What do you think you are doing, Sasuke?! You—you stalk me!"

Sasuke kept silent at Naruto's accusing finger pointing toward him. Should he say yes? Was that going to make Naruto less mad? He was ready to admit that yes, he really was stalking Naruto for the past few weeks, but he didn't think that was what Naruto really wanted to hear.

He hadn't planned to stalk Naruto (or anyone in his life, ever) but…

He was curious, damnit. First, he just wanted to see if Naruto really was… well, a man. So he took a peek (he was not peeping, he swore. Taking a peek and peeping were completely different) and yes… Naruto was a man, alright. But then, he saw Naruto interactions with Ryu, and he felt, err… nice. Before he knew it, he became addicted to watching the two. So he watched their every move whenever he could. Watching them was like a drug that could make him feel happy and light. He was addicted to watching.

And—and seeing Naruto's naked body was like an added bonus. Sasuke knew that it was weird to be "happy" when he saw Naruto naked, but he still wanted to watch. It was his highlight of the day, really. He didn't know what was wrong with him. He had never felt like this before—obsessing over someone else's body. Was it some kind of disease he caught somewhere? Did it have a cure?

Because if it did, he needed it badly. Because this disease just seemed to get worse. Before, he was satisfied with only looking, but now he wanted to touch. He wanted to feel that tan skin that looked so smooth. And—and he wanted to feel the blond hair that looked so much like the sun; would it burn his hand if he were to touch it?

Ouff!

A punch connected with his stomach, and Sasuke keeled over in pain.

"Are you even listening to what I am saying, teme?!"

Naruto looked super mad. He must be, Sasuke thought. Sasuke had ignored him—lost in his imagination—and stalked him for weeks. Anybody would be mad over that. Who in their right mind liked having a stalker? Obviously, Naruto didn't.

Getting no answer from Sasuke, Naruto tried to kick him this time. Sasuke managed to avoid it. He stood up quickly to avoid another attack.

Naruto attacked again. Sasuke dodged it.

Another attack from Naruto. Sasuke blocked it.

Still another attack from Naruto. Sasuke gracefully moved before it could connect.

The cycle repeated for about an hour before Naruto realized that Sasuke never made a real attack.

"Fight me, you bastard!!"

"I can't." The answer was automatic. It came out unbidden from Sasuke's mouth.

"And why is that, Sasuke? Are you afraid of me?" Naruto grinned, very confident of his ability to kick Sasuke's ass.

"I can't hurt the mother of my son."

There was a complete silence at the training ground following that statement; only the sound of Sasuke's breathing could be heard. Naruto seemed to stop breathing for a few moments. He must have been hallucinating when he heard _that._ He'd better be hallucinating, because if Sasuke really did say that, Sasuke would be dead faster than he could finish saying "Boo."

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Legend:

(1) When I was in high school, my classmates told me that when you are "excited," hitting your knee repeatedly with your fist can make the "excitement" go down. I guess they told me the truth 'cause I saw a boy doing that once. Hahaha. Don't ask!

(2) "Stalkee" is not a real word. Hehe. But, in this story, it is the one who gets stalked. Okay?

Ahh… Finished this chapter. How was Sasuke? This is how I want him to be in this story. He has something that he wants, and he will act accordingly. It was fun to write stupid Sasuke like that. Kui kui kui…

Next chapter title:

**Chapter 12: S.L.O… Sasuke's Love Operation**


	13. SLOSasuke's Love Op Part 1

Disclaimer: The Naruto characters are not mine. Pardon me for borrowing it.

A slow SasuNaru story (so be patient).

Yo, long time, eh? I err… lost my notebook on my flight home, sooo, sorry! Well, if you think this chapter is too drama-ish, that's because I've watched a lot of dramas lately: Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Hindi, Indonesian, Venezuelan, and of course, English—but I like Thai dramas the best, even though I can't tell one from the other… and why the heck is everybody called "Pae"?

Err…I said too much, now enjoy.

**This is the edited version. Thank you Obscure Omen (and I'm really sorry).**

**Chapter 12: S.L.O...Sasuke's Love Operation Part 1**

The silence had been stretched long enough, and—since Sasuke's eyes never left Naruto's rigid frame—he had noticed that Naruto seemed to stop breathing; his face was blue, and if he kept holding his breath, he might faint.

"Hey, usuratonkachi." Sasuke tried to break the silence. For some unknown reason, it pained him to see Naruto like that—he might hurt himself unnecessarily by not breathing, and Sasuke would rather slit his own wrist than let anything harm Naruto.

"_I can't hurt the mother of my son."_

His own sentence echoed in his head. Although that sentence sounded so cheesy—almost like it came straight out of a telenovela—he meant every word of it. The reality of that statement did shock him a little, but he was just being honest with himself… and blunt.

He knew he was not the honest or blunt type of guy who said whatever was on his mind—on the contrary, after the clan massacre he preferred to keep everything to himself.

But lately, he found himself being a little more honest and a bit open with himself; he was less in denial and had begun to learn to care for other people. Err… alright, maybe not other people, but he did learn to care about his students and the old folks at the folks' home.

True to what Shikamaru had said, being a caretaker had changed him bit by bit. The children's honesty, innocence, and blunt mannerisms had infected him somehow. Their undoubted loyalty, unbiased opinions, and purity did wonders to Sasuke's cold heart. Even if it was by a little, they had definitely warmed his cold heart bit by bit.

So, he had thought, if he had finally decided to be honest, why couldn't he start it with Naruto? And, just to be sure, he had also done a bit of soul-searching for the last few days, and guess what: Now he could easily admit that he wanted Naruto and Ryu as his. He wanted them both to be his family—legally—and, to be more precise, he wanted Ryu's name changed from Uzumaki Ryuunosuke to Uchiha Ryuunosuke. That way he would have a legal son and heir, _and then_ his life would be complete.

And the "I can't hurt the mother of my son" was the first step in letting it out into the open. He wanted to say something of that nature to Naruto before, but he couldn't find the right moment to say it. In between teaching, visiting the old folks, fixing his mansion, and stalking Naruto, he had been busy. Thus, he was glad he said that to Naruto, and now he hoped that Naruto would catch his hidden meaning—the one that meant to say that he wanted Naruto as his baby factory and Ryu (or any other child, if they ever had other children in their relationship) to be his heir(s).

If possible, he wanted to keep them for as long as he lived.

Because, now that he had begun to think of Naruto and Ryu as his, he couldn't stand to see them with any other person. Although he didn't think he was in love—or anything—with that stupid blond, Sasuke, by nature, was a possessive individual, especially when it had anything to do with family. For him, his family was like his most prized possession; once he got them, he would never let them go. The massacre obviously was the thing responsible for this protectiveness.

Other than that, he simply believed that they would make a good family—there was no reason to believe otherwise. Even without love, he was convinced that he and Naruto could live happily as a couple; they were so compatible with each other and understood the suffering from loneliness that they would get along just fine—that would be the basis of their relationship, instead of the love in most relationships.

Well, it was not like Sasuke didn't think about that particular subject, but love was impossible, right? Even now, when the feeling to posses Naruto and Ryu in his life was overwhelming, Sasuke was sure that was not love (he came up with that conclusion all by his stupid self); it was just an urge to possess what he thought was his and as a mean to complete his second goal—no more than that.

Maybe—"maybe" being the operative word—he felt a little bit of lust toward Naruto, (Sasuke was trying to be honest here) but that was because he was a healthy young man with hormones, who used to have a very active sex life not too long ago. Now that he was further away from that kind of life, of course he was bound to be a little horny. It was just natural, right? Right?

Err…

Okay, so what if he felt possessive, protective, and lust toward his ex-best friend? That didn't mean he was in love with him, right? Even when the subject of Naruto occupied his thoughts day and night, that didn't mean anything, right?

_Of course it doesn't!_ Sasuke strongly believed. After all, since they were young, Naruto had always occupied his mind (apart from his vengeance to his brother), so what did _that_ make any different now? He always thought about fighting him, about how _not_ to be friendly with him, about how dumb the blond could be or how the whisker marks on his face would twitch when he was ready to attack, and so on—he could list it all, but it would take centuries to finish.

But really, that didn't mean he was in love. Nuh-uh.

Equating all that to "love" had never crossed Sasuke's mind—not before, not now, and probably not ever. Why? Well, simply because they were guys.

Two. Guys.

In other word, men.

Mature boys.

Humans of the XY variety.

They couldn't fall in love with each other. Two guys couldn't be in a love relationship, right? That was utterly, fundamentally, earth-shakingly impossible—or so it seemed to Sasuke.

Also, apart from that, Sasuke could sense that Naruto was not really fond of him, either. Judging from the way Naruto was looking at him now, his eyes glowing red with fury, Sasuke was convinced that Naruto might feel a little more than just dislike toward him. If Sasuke was being frank, he would have said that Naruto hated his guts.

Oh, well, that was no surprise, really. But, never mind that. Sasuke would change that in due time. Right now he was just relieved to know that Naruto had finally started breathing again so that he didn't have to worry about Naruto hurting himself. However, he was a bit concerned about how Naruto's blue face had turned bright red and how he was trembling a little bit now.

Sasuke was about to walk over to Naruto to make sure that Naruto was actually alright when he was stopped by Naruto's voice.

"I'll just ask you one more time." Naruto's eyes were full of determination, daring Sasuke to deny his challenge. "Fight. Me!"

"I can't."

And that did it. Naruto's chakra flared violently around him, showing Sasuke that he was very pissed at his answer. This double standard that Sasuke imposed upon him hurt his manly pride severely. Just because he gave birth to their son didn't mean Sasuke could treat him like he was some kind of a damsel in distress, like—like he couldn't protect himself!

For once and for all, he was not a girl, and Sasuke didn't have the right to act like he was the knight in shining armor when all the while—when he still didn't know the truth—he treated Naruto so rudely. And—and to be treated like a girl when he was trying so hard to be a strong and respective ninja was degrading. Sasuke didn't have the right to treat him like this! Did he think that the Uchihas was the only clan with pride? Well, news flash! The Uzumakis had their pride, too. That bastard deserved to die, trampling on people's pride like this!

_I'm gonna kill that bastard!_

Naruto moved as fast as he could, intending to surprise Sasuke with a kick to the bastard's stomach. He was hoping that with the element of surprise, maybe Sasuke wouldn't have the time to dodge it, and he would able to hit him; he wanted so badly to hurt the bastard, a.k.a. the walking-dead-man—hell yeah he was, if Naruto got his way. To Naruto's frustration, with a surprising speed—a speed three times faster than Naruto's own—Sasuke managed to dodge it. But, then again, Sasuke was always faster than Naruto ever since they were just mere children, and apparently, he still was, even now.

_Damn it!_ Naruto cursed silently to himself when he witnessed how fast Sasuke could move. He had to admit, if they were to compete in speed alone, he wouldn't win against Sasuke. Naruto thought he had improved his speed over the years, but it looked like he still couldn't catch up with Sasuke—Sasuke had become better and faster. He had a long way to go before he could be as fast as or faster than Sasuke.

Still, that didn't mean he would give up. Not wanting to lose, Naruto decided to call for help in order to keep up with Sasuke's inhuman speed. With a series of seals, seven solid clones were produced. Once produced, they all stood around Sasuke (including the real Naruto)—circling him—to block him if he tried to escape; they were also ready to attack, all at once if needed.

On Sasuke's part, he just regarded the clones coolly. He already told Naruto that he wouldn't fight him, so he _wouldn't _fight him. Sasuke might have betrayed Naruto—and the village—once, but he had always been true to his words. When had he ever lied to Naruto? As far back as he could remember, there were none. So when he said he wouldn't harm Naruto, he meant it. Moreover, he already knew which was the real Naruto. Really, the Sharingan could be very handy sometimes

And, according to his Sharingan, the Naruto on his immediate left was the real one. He just needed to dispose of the other clones by poking them with his kunai—or something—or hitting them with his fists or feet. Yet, he had to be extra careful not to hurt the real one. To do this, he had to attack first. He threw out a few of his kunai, and four of the clones poofed out. A kick to the right, a punch to the front, and a stab to his back, and _tadaa, _all the clones were gone. All of that was done before a minute was up.

Was he fast, or was he fast?

Sasuke smirked and looked at the real Naruto. _Yep, he's fuming._

Naruto was fuming, alright. The clone strategy did not work, and Sasuke still looked as cool as ever; Naruto's frustration level raised another three notches. Unable to control his frustration any longer, Naruto launched a long series of attacks on Sasuke—chakra-powered attacks, to be exact. However, not once did Sasuke try to retaliate. He just dodged the attacks as best as he could, which was not helping his case much. The powerful attacks had begun to hurt his arms, legs, head, and body. He would have to do something to stop Naruto's attack (without hurting him, of course), or he wouldn't last long; he could be killed by this.

And, err… that was not the only reason. Seeing Naruto in this state—his face red with anger with droplets of sweat running down his face—made Sasuke wanted to kiss the misery away—literally! Call him a masochist or whatever, but Sasuke found Naruto's angry face to be a cute sight. He had become a little, err… distracted watching that cute face, and he needed to stop it before anything bad could happen.

**Bok!** A punch to the face. "Take that, teme!"

Sasuke fell to the ground. Damn it, he got hit in the face just because he got careless daydreaming about kissing Naruto. He moved his tongue; he could taste blood. The blow was not extremely strong, but it managed to cut the inside of his mouth. He spat the blood out but made no move to stand; he just sat there and stared at Naruto's bending form, which was panting heavily not too far from Sasuke: Naruto's palms was on his knees, and he was still glaring daggers at Sasuke.

Sasuke licked his bloody lips again. That glare sent a shiver down his spine, and, without he realizing it, he moved toward Naruto. Sensing that Sasuke had begun to move again—and was now trying to get close to him—Naruto attacked him again. Only this time, he was the one who was caught by surprise. With a surprising strength and a speed that Naruto was unable to see, Sasuke caught both of Naruto's hands and pinned them to his sides. Slowly, his lips descended to meet with Naruto's.

Naruto, on the other hand, who was still in a shock, saw this as if it was in a slow motion. He could clearly see Sasuke's face getting closer and closer to his own. And—and, to his horror, the "getting closer part" didn't stop until Sasuke's lips were directly on his. To add to his horror, he was too shocked to shove Sasuke away until…..

Until he felt a tongue lick his lower lip.

_Oh. My. Freaking. Crap._

Naruto wrenched his arms from Sasuke's grip and kicked Sasuke in the stomach with his knees. With a shout of "eat shit and die, Sasuke-bastard!" Naruto quickly gathered his shirts and ran away—he seemed to do that a lot when Sasuke was around.

Sasuke was left dumbfounded on the ground after Naruto kicked him. His stomach was hurt, sure, but his mind was busy analyzing and trying to understand what the freaking hell had just happened. That was certainly, err… weird. "What has just happened?" he asked himself. He didn't really know himself, because it had been as if he was in a trance-like state (until he was rudely kicked in the stomach). If he wasn't stopped by the kick, he was sure he would have done a lot worse—exactly what (_that_, too), he didn't know.

Sasuke groaned—a groan of pain mixed with disbelief and frustration. This was getting out of hand. Seriously, this disease** (1)** was getting worse—he needed a cure, and he needed it fast.

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Naruto managed to reach his house even in his state of frenzy.

_What was that? Did he try to eat me or—or did he re-really try to—to k-k-ki…_

Naruto smacked his own head before he could finish that line of thought.

"That was ju-just freaky!" Naruto held his head with both his hands as if his head was injured. Freaky! Like—like super freaky! And Naruto thought he had been through all freaky (and weird) things life had to offer: a parentless life, being scorned, being a caveman, being a demon host, talking to said demon, pregnant, giving birth, being a single parent, and so on. Just name it, and Naruto was sure he had been through it; he was a bit proud to say, he was a man with many life experiences (although he might be naïve in other aspects of life, but that was beside the point, right?).

But—but really, a kiss from the stoic bastard?!_ That_ was one experience that he would rather not have, thankyouverymuch. _Ew… That bastard even licked my lips!_ Naruto rubbed his lips furiously with his shirt sleeve. If he had to put into words what category that kind of experience belonged to, he would say it was—it was a—a… Naruto didn't know what that was. All that he knew was that "that" made him nervous and—and a little shaky inside. What did Sasuke want to accomplish by kissing him like that? Was that his new strategy in battle? If it was, Naruto thought, then hell yeah, it would surely work to distract his opponents, because he was definitely distracted—no denying about that.

"Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!! Sasuke, you bastard! Go somewhere and die, you freaking jerk!! Don't appear in front of me again!!" Naruto shouted angrily at the empty house. He huffed and puffed angrily for several minutes before deciding that he had enough thinking of Sasuke in one day and proceeded to take a bath—that ought to calm him down a little; thinking about Sasuke just made his blood boil, and if he continued thinking about him, he would have high-blood pressure at this young age, or worse, a heart attack.

_I. Must. Stop. Thinking. About. That. Bastard._

So what if Sasuke had kissed him? That guy was nuts—Naruto had already established this simple fact earlier in life. _That_ just now must have been one of his little quirks—a moment of temporary madness. Naruto shouldn't have to worry his awesome head over this. If he didn't want to get caught up in Sasuke's moment of temporary madness again, he just had to stay away from him as much as he could. No Sasuke, no feel-bad moment.

909

Naruto—he'd swear to God!—had tried his hardest avoiding the bastard wholeheartedly, but nooooo, the bastard couldn't leave him alone. Now that Sasuke had been caught red-handed at stalking him secretly, he had turned to stalking Naruto openly. What. The. Hell?! That guy was impossible.

It all began on the very next day, after their one-sided fight, which meant it was Sunday. Naruto was on his way to pick up Ryu from Kurenai-sensei's house when he noticed somebody was following him not too far behind. Unlike last time, this time he had a fairly good idea about who it was, and once he turned around, his suspicions were confirmed.

It was Sasuke, looking like he had all the right in the world to be an open stalker—he made it look like stalking people in broad daylight was an ordinary, honest-to-God job. The nerve of this conceited guy. Naruto growled low in his throat.

_What does he want? Is he seriously still stalking me?_

"Teme, why are you still following me? Do you really want me to beat you to death that badly, huh? You really have a death wish, huh, bastard?" Naruto said that in a monotone voice, though it didn't hinder the threat he clearly put there; he would not feel an iota of hesitation carrying it out if Sasuke as much as gave him a wrong signal. Yet, to Sasuke, with Naruto talking to him like this—even with the death threat—he felt his day just got brighter. He had this weird premonition that his day would be downright sunny if Naruto so much as gave him a small smile…

That line of thinking disturbed him a little, and it made him a little bit nervous to know that Naruto had some kind of effect on him. To keep from showing that he was disturbed, he answered Naruto with a dead-panned voice of his own.

"I need to talk to you."

"Who'd wanna talk to you, asshole?! Get lost!" was Naruto's immediate reply. He didn't even wait for Sasuke's reply before he turned around and resumed his walking.

**Tap-tap.** Naruto took his two steps forward.

**Tap-tap.** Sasuke took his own two steps forward, a few meters behind Naruto.

**Tap-tap-tap-tap. Stop.** Naruto's turn.

**Tap-tap-tap-tap. Stop.** Sasuke's.

Suspicions confirmed. Roger-and-out—Sasuke was still following him.

Naruto assumed that when he rejected talking to Sasuke, that bastard would go away, but once again, nooooo, the bastard still stuck around. Then again, who was he trying to kid? Sasuke and assumptions had never went hand-in-hand.

_That bastard. He just won't give up, eh?_

Silently, Naruto pushed some chakra to his feet and ran as fast as he could to his destination, leaving Sasuke far behind. He hoped with his speed he would lose him—the one person he didn't want to deal with. Yet, Sasuke was the first person he had the misfortune of meeting this early in the morning; today must not have been his lucky day.

Putting his unlucky day aside, that bastard, didn't he have any shame? Showing his face like this after the daring act he pulled last night? Not only that, but then he has the guts to demand that they should talk? What did he want to talk about, anyway? Ryu? He better not. Hadn't Naruto made it clear that Ryu was his, not Sasuke's? All in all, they had nothing to talk about, no matter how much Sasuke thought they should.

Just seeing his face made him wanted to hit something, so how could he talk to Sasuke civilly? That nonchalant attitude of his, like he didn't do anything wrong, and the way he came to Naruto demanding that they should talk really grated on Naruto's nerves—and just when he had finally concluded to just forgive and forget what had happened last night, too. It had taken all of last night for Naruto to convince himself that Sasuke was really having an episode of temporary insanity. Poor Sasuke. He must have had lingering emotional trauma from being with that Orochi-guy for so long, so he had gone slowly insane. So, deciding that he should be a little sympathic with Sasuke's condition, Naruto chose to be the bigger man and just forgive Sasuke's weird behavior; he would treat that kiss as if he err… had eaten some rotten food. Yeah, that was it, just like he had accidentally eaten some rotten food! It tasted awful, sure, but that was nothing a mouthwash couldn't help.

However, if Sasuke ever tried to do anything like that again, he would—would… definitely, definitely hurt him. Very. Badly. _You bet on it!_ Last night, Naruto was _this_ close to killing that bastard. He was truly angry; he almost lost it. If not for that world-stopping kiss, he would have—have accidentally killed the last remaining Uchiha. And what would have happened to him if he really had killed Sasuke—the village favourite and precious clan member? The council would have had his head, of course. Who was he compared to the Uchiha prodigy? They wouldn't have hesitated even slightly in killing him.

In a nutshell—in the deep recesses of his mind—Naruto understood: no killing the bastard just because he was uber-angry with him; just beat him half-dead. That should be good enough. As long as he didn't kill him, that should be fine, right? Right!! In conclusion, if Sasuke tried anything weird again, he would be an almost-dead man walking.

Naruto grinned to himself, satisfied with what he had come out with, and when he looked around to find no Sasuke lurking around, his grin just got wider—he had lost him. _Take that, bastard! You lost! Hahahah…_

Happy that there was no Sasuke to interrupt him, he knocked on Kurenai-sensei's door cheerfully—his day might not be so unlucky after all. To his surprise, Ryu answered the door.

"Ohaiyo **(2)**, Ryu! Miss Dada?" Naruto crouched down to Ryu's level to look at his eyes.

"Hn!!" Ryu answered enthusiastically, but his answer was smothered by his dada's shirt when Ryu hugged him.

"Were you a good boy? You didn't make Kurenai-ka-san angry, did you?" Naruto asked teasingly. He always asked that to keep Ryu's behavior in check. If Ryu was really acting badly, he would be too ashamed to answer to his Dada, so Ryu would try his best to be a good boy—it was the reverse-psychology thing.

Ryu didn't immediately answer when he was asked this. Instead, he looked down guilty at his small feet. Kurenai-sensei, sensing Ryu's distress, came to the rescue.

"Nah, he was a wonderful boy, as always. Well, those boys did get into a little fight, but aren't they always? Boys will be boys."

"Ah-hah-hah-hah. Is that true?" Picking himself up to stand to his full height, Naruto scratched the back of his head, grinning stupidly at Kurenai-sensei—he was a bit abashed by her comment. Then he looked down at Ryu, who was still looking guiltily at his feet.

"Is that true, Ryu?"

This time, Ryu looked up at his Dada, and, with a defiant look, he answered him, "But—but Asuma didn't want to show his drawing! It was not Ryu's fault that the paper got torn. He was being stingy!" Ryu defended himself, crossing his arms over his chest to get his point across.

"Maaa, Ryu. That's no way to act. Did you ask him nicely?"

"Hn. I did ask him."

"Nicely? With a 'please'?"

"No." The voice was small.

Naruto ruffled Ryu's hair with affection when he saw Ryu's face; Ryu looked like he knew he had done something wrong.

"Alright! Next time, ask nicely, ok?"

"Hn. Okay." Ryu eagerly nodded his head and gave his Dada a brilliant smile.

"Well, now that that's resolved, how about breakfast. Naruto, wanna join us? I've already prepared them, and there's miso soup, too."

"Can I? Really? Ahhh… You are too nice to me, Kurenai-sensei."

"Nonsense, Naruto. Come, before it gets cold."

909

The father and son pair said thanks and goodbye to Kurenai-sensei and her son, Asuma; before that, Ryu had promised to draw the picture—the one he tore last night—together with Asuma at school on Monday, so the two boys were friends again. No doubt they would fight again whenever, but kids' problems were so easy to solve that it made Naruto wish that adults' problems could be as easy to manage.

_Ahhh, not again. Don't think about him. Now I'm with Ryu, so focus on him._

"Now, Ryu. What do you want to do today? We can go visit Uncle Lee if you want, or we can play a pra—err… play with Granny Tsunade today. She must be busy, but she will be glad to see you. Ah-ha! Dada knows! Let's go swimming! It'll be fun!"

"Hn. But Ryu wants to practice."

"Practice?"

"Hn!" Ryu's voice was animated. "Ryu wants to practice throwing kunai! It's really fun, Dada. Ryu wants to get better!"

_Kunai, kunai, kunai…_the word echoed in Naruto's head. How could this be?! Ryu was not even four yet, and he was already playing with dangerous weapon.

"Ryu, listen to Dada." Naruto was gripping Ryu's shoulder. "Kunai are not toys. You shouldn't play with them. It's dangerous. Forget about the kunai, okay? Why don't we just go swimming, alright? It's gonna be fun!" Naruto put on his sunniest smile to persuade his son.

"It's okay, Dada." Ryu patted his Dada on the arms. "If you want to go swimming, you can go swimming. I can go practice throwing kunai with Uchiha-sensei!" Ryu's voice was still animated, unaware of his parent's despair.

_Uchiha-sensei, Uchiha-sensei, Uchiha-sensei…_echoed dangerously in his head now.

"Right, Uchiha-sensei?"

"Hn."

Naruto quickly turned his head to where the "hn" noise came from.

"Teme!" Naruto hissed, "What are you doing here?"

"Hn. I want to—"

"No, no, no. Don't answer that." _He probably will say the same thing he said this morning._

Ignoring Sasuke completely, he turned back to his son.

"Ryu, are you sure you don't want to go swimming?" At Ryu's shake of his head, Naruto continued, "Okay, if you want to practice, I'll practice with you. We don't need Uchiha-sensei to come along; he must be busy with something else." _Hell yeah, you bastard. Buzz off!_

"I'm not b—" Sasuke tried to say, but a foot being planted harshly on his right foot stopped him. Naruto was still smiling, but the planted foot was a good enough warning for him to shut his mouth.

"You were saying, U-chi-ha-sen-sei?" The words were not friendly. Sasuke shook his head; it was not good to make Naruto angry right now—he might lose his precious right foot.

"But—but," Ryu was whining, "Uchiha-sensei said he's better at throwing kunai than Dada. I want Uchiha-sensei to teach me."

"Is that so?" Naruto was still smiling, but his brows were twitching madly. He ground his foot harder into Sasuke's, making Sasuke hiss in pain. He was sure his foot had started to turn blue from the pressure. "Dada's sure that is not true. Right, U-chi-ha-sen-sei?" Naruto ground his foot in harder at every syllable.

Sasuke tried to answer, but Ryu's voice cut him off. "But, Dada, you never teach me! Uchiha-sensei teaches me how to throw kunai, and he is so cool! Dada, can you teach me, too? Please, please Dada…" The look that Ryu was giving Naruto at the moment was impossible to refuse.

"Okay. Let's go." At the word "okay," Ryu let out a loud "yeah" and ran ahead of the adults to the training ground. Once Naruto felt that Ryu was well out of hearing distance, he turned to look at Sasuke angrily.

"What the hell were you thinking, jerk?! He's just three years old!! It's too early for him to be playing with sharp objects!!"

"He's turning four in a week, so he's technically—"

"Don't get smart on me, you twit! Who gave you permission to teach him that? Is that what the Academy teaches young children nowadays?"

"No, they don't, and I don't need anyone's permission. I'm his father."

"Why, you!!" Naruto had already raised his fist to punch Sasuke, but Ryu interrupted him.

"Come, on Dada. Hurry up. Here, here. Dada can use this one"—Ryu gave Naruto a mock-kunai, not sharp enough to hurt—"and I'll use this one." He showed Naruto his own mock-kunai, exactly the same as the one Naruto was holding.

"Hurry, hurry!" He was tugging Naruto's hand to get closer to the practice targets. "Is this the right way to hold it? Is it? Is it?"

"Yes, yes. Just use three fingers. Yes, like that. Wahhh, you are so good at this, Ryu!" Naruto had totally forgotten that he was angry at Sasuke not a mere moment ago.

"Hehe…" Ryu grinned, happy that his Dada praised him, and kept throwing his kunai. Once in a while, Naruto gave him tips to improve his throw.

"He's really good-tebba!" Naruto made small talk to himself. _I'm proud of you, Ryu._

"Of course he's good. He's an Uchiha."

That damned-to-hell voice again. He had forgotten that the asshole was also here for a minute there.

"I became an expert in throwing kunai before I was five. He should be the same." Sasuke was referring to Ryu when he said "he."

"That was you, but this is _my_ son. He will be one when he wants to; there's no need to rush him. And why the heck are you still here, bastard? Get lost." Naruto's voice was low so that Ryu wouldn't hear him—otherwise the child might get upset knowing that his Dada had chased his sensei away.

Sasuke was silent for such a long time after that that Naruto almost thought he had gone away. Alas, he was still there.

"Naruto, I need to talk to you about something."

Naruto let out an exasperated sigh. "I already told you in plain Japanese; why can't you understand yet? I don't want to talk to you. Do you want me to tell you in sign language? I don't know it, but I'll try if that'll make you understand."

This time, Naruto was looking straight at Sasuke when he spoke, and Sasuke could see from his face that he really (make that really, really, really) didn't want to talk to Sasuke. Maybe Sasuke just should be straight to the point. That way, Naruto didn't have to listen to him for long.

Yeah, being direct is the best approach for this. _So, here goes nothing._

"Usuratonkachi, I want you to marry me."

909

(1) Please refer to the previous chapter

(2) "Ohaiyo" means "good morning" (informal speech)

**End of chapter 12, part 1. **

I'll write the rest later. It's a long chapter, so I have to cut it into parts. This is just the beginning; I haven't even started with Sasuke's plans yet.

Just hope I'll keep being motivated to do this, okay?

Oh. How do you guys think Naruto will react? Sasuke proposed in such an unromantic way, he deserves a kick to his croch; he called him usuratonkachi for God's sakes!

Jaa, till next time.

I want to say thank you/arigato/terima kasih/kamsamida/kam sia/shukriya/toa chie/khwap kun ka/ shukran to my reviewers (this is from the last chapter):

**S.Wright, 1animegirl, roboguy45, dragonpearl77, blue-genjutsu, cynlee, psychocitten, JaRyse, Hikory, Pay Backs a Bitch, cluelessninja65, iamie, shadowblayze, Broken Sexed Up Bloody Kitten, a kitsune's light, anthoinette, darkkoi, lemon Domination, Dracolovers of Tommorrow, IceCream, black-hurt17, blue-nuriel, Ai Enmaxjigoku shoujo, Ticia no Hohoemi, DreamGrapher, SakuryKissy, Twilight Goddess Sage, smartlikeshikamaru, Inu-bitch, carmslian0592, chibi carru, Barking Spiders, Shikyo Razan, shiinechan, Jadej.j, Rasalynn Lyn, narcoleptic86, Broken Blood Drops, Hinachan188, hpbecky04, yourbabykitsune, and narsas.**


	14. SLOSasuke's Love Op Part 2

**Disclaimer:**_Naruto_'s characters are not mine. Pardon me for borrowing them.

A slow SasuNaru story (so be patient).

Warning: Yaoi, stupidity abound, shameless attitude and bad words.

**Edited by Obscure Omen (Thank you, you're awesome!!)**

**Chapter 12: S.L.O…Sasuke's Love Operation Part 2**

Naruto's eyes widened a fraction at the seemingly out-of-nowhere, out-of-place, and abnormal proposal before an understanding dawned on him. Unknowingly, his eyes turned a bit soft. Slowly, he reached out his hand to touch Sasuke's arm gently.

"Come, Sasuke. I'll take you there." Naruto was still gazing at Sasuke with that soft look while he was talking. "I should have known this sooner. Shit!" Naruto berated himself, voice low enough that Sasuke couldn't hear him.

His hand still on Sasuke's arm, Naruto tugged the still-as-a-statue Sasuke toward Ryu.

Unable to believe his luck that Naruto had willingly touched him, Sasuke behaved as best as he could to not make Naruto let go of his arm—if he had to be as still as a statue, so be it. How many times had he dreamt about those tan hands willingly touching a part of his body? Countless times! And—and if he let his imagination run wild now, he would have a massive nosebleed.

"Ryu, come! Dada thinks we should go now." Ryu looked a bit disgruntled at his Dada's rather autocratic command. He still wanted to play with the kunai, but, not being the type to make his Dada unhappy, he ran lightly toward the pair of adults.

At the questioning look on Ryu's face, Naruto explained himself, "We need to bring Uchiha-sensei to Tsunde-baa-san or…if she's busy, to the hospital."

_Hospital?_ "Hospital?" Two thoughts, one voice.

"Yup," Naruto answered his son, while throwing a wary glance at Sasuke's quiet form. "Dada thinks Uchiha-sensei is sick." His hand was still holding Sasuke's arm, afraid that the unstable Sasuke would try to run away. He felt kinda stupid feeling like this when not a few minutes ago he had wanted to run away from this guy, but now he understood. Sasuke, the creepy bastard, needed help, and Naruto, the good guy, was gonna help him.

"He is?" _I am?_ Again, two similar thoughts but just one voice heard.

Ryu looked at his sensei imploringly, his eyes sympathetic. With a good intention in his heart, Ryu patted Sasuke's larger hand gently. "Don't worry, Uchiha-sensei. We will come visit you in the hospital. I'll bring you, err…onigiri. You'll get better real fast-tebba!"

_H__uh_? Sasuke felt a little lost here. He had predicted that Naruto would scream and kick him when he proposed, but nothing like this. While he didn't have any complaints with Naruto touching him and appearing to be almost calm, Naruto's reaction was alarming.

_And w__hat are they talking about, anyway? Who's sick? Me? Since when? If I am, why am I not aware of it? And—and Naruto's hand is still on my arm…_

Sasuke cleared his throat—scolding himself harshly inside—to avoid thinking about Naruto's hand on his arm… and the probability of that hand accidently slipping and touching his other body parts… Damnit, he needed to concentrate; he had an important question to ask here!

"Who is?" Sasuke looked squarely at Naruto in the eyes. "I'm not."

"Maa, maa, Sasuke. Don't be afraid. They are not going to do anything to you. Baa-san will probably do a check up and give you some pills, but that's it. You can go home after that." Naruto eyes mirrored his son's eyes now: sympathetic.

_Poor Sasuke.__ He didn't even know that he is sick_.

Now, Naruto kinda understood why Sasuke was behaving so strangely these last few weeks. He must have been confused for some reason. He had probably confused Naruto with a girl who probably had the same hair or eye colour as Naruto. Naruto had finally understood what Sasuke's problem was when Sasuke had asked him to marry him—Sasuke was delusional.

Because—let's face it—if Sasuke was in his right mind, why would he do such a thing?

The answer: He wasn't right in the mind, and therefore sick.

However, since Naruto was not an expert, he couldn't diagnose what was the cause of Sasuke's sickness. It might be physiological or neurological, or maybe it was because of his eyes—those cursed sharingans must have some side-effects; they had Itachi to prove that: They made him go insane! Sasuke might be suffering from the same sickness. Who knows?

And bringing him to the hospital was the most responsible thing for Naruto to do. Hopefully, if he got treated, he would stop acting so strangely.

"I'm not, usuratonkachi."

"You are, bastard," Naruto said, hissing the word "bastard" softly lest Ryu would hear him.

"Not."

"Are."

"Not."

"Are!"

At Naruto's outburst, Sasuke gave him a "Hn" and a look that clearly said "I can't believe you're stupider than you look, Usuratonkachi," which succeeded to make Naruto grit his teeth in frustrated anger; he knew that look, oh yeah he knew it—Sasuke had given him that look many, many times, and he couldn't possibly mistake its meaning.

_Calm down, Naruto__. He's sick; don't beat him._

"Listen, Sasuke. I know you think you are fine, but you aren't," Naruto talked to Sasuke slowly as if he was a three-year-old, trying to reason with him and patting Sasuke's arm softly all the while; if he had candy on hand, he'd give it to Sasuke as an incentive. This tactic usually worked on Ryu; why not use it on Sasuke?

"I really am not. You'd think I'd know if I were sick. What makes _you_ think I'm sick all of a sudden?"

"Of course I think you're sick, Sasuke! You just asked me to marry you!"

Patience be damned!

He let go of Sasuke's arm to point an accusing finger at Sasuke—Sasuke's insistence was grating on his nerve. Why couldn't that arrogant bastard be agreeable for once? Naruto was just trying to help.

"Asking you to marry me doesn't make me sick. Why would it? In fact, I'll go search for rings this afternoon. Of course, unless you want to join me, I suggest you start other necessary preparations. Such as… finding an outfit to wear?"

_Is this bastard for real?__ And what outfit?_

Naruto took a hard look at Sasuke, something he hadn't done for quite some time. Sure he had looked at Sasuke before, but never really _looked_, you know? Yeah…

Sasuke might look healthy, might look smart, and might look—Naruto hated to admit it, though—handsome, but he was certainly insane. _Beware everyone. Don't be fooled!_

"You're kidding, right?" Naruto looked around nervously when his mind reminded him that this might be just a sick joke Sasuke was playing on him, anticipating people to come out and say "Boooo, April Fools!" any minute now (even though it was July).

"I am not." Sasuke looked grim.

"Then, is it a joke? 'Cause if it is, bastard, it is certainly not funny. _You_ are not funny."

"It is not, and I'm certainly not trying to be funny. Do I look like I'm trying to be funny?" If possible, Sasuke looked grimmer.

Naruto opened his mouth to throw an angry retort, but nothing came to mind at Sasuke's fierce stare. He looked at Sasuke just as fiercely, locking into a staring contest with him, one wanting to show that he was serious (and not sick), the other wanting to show that he was not taking all this bullcrap being thrown at him.

Neither of them noticed Shikamaru approaching them.

Poor Shikamaru had been searching for his charge all morning, and when he had finally found him—Shikamaru exhaled a heavy sigh—he was in a heated argument with his ex-best friend. Seeing this, initially, he just wanted to tap Sasuke on the shoulder and drag him away, back to his unfinished business of fixing his mansion, but when they started to argue in higher voices and use improper words, he grabbed Ryu's hand instead and led him away from the two seemingly immature adults.

Those two were hopeless—he'd better save the innocent mind.

"Uncle Shika, are they fighting? Dada looks angry."

Ahh, the innocent question. Shikamaru hated this kind of question—they made him feel guilty when he lied. So, how to lie without lying? Easy: Don't give straight answer.

"Err… I think they are just discussing things. Don't worry." Shikamaru looked at Ryu and noticed the fake kunai. "Are you practising with that?"

"Uh-huh. Ryu and—and Dada and—and Uchiha-sensei were practising throwing kunai—" Ryu made a show of throwing "—before Dada said we had to bring Uchiha-sensei to the hospital." Ryu beckoned Shikamaru to bend his body so he could speak directly to Shikamaru's ear. As if it were a secret, Ryu whispered to Shikamaru, "Dada said Uchiha-sensei is sick."

_Sick, huh?_ Shikamaru wondered.

He had heard bits and pieces of their argument when he found them—they were not exactly quiet with their arguing—so Shikamaru could make heads and tails of it. And from his excellent observational skills (and his constant presence around Sasuke as his guardian), he didn't think Sasuke was sick. Stupidly bold, maybe, but definitely not sick.

For some time, Shikamaru had suspected something when he realized Sasuke had been missing and abandoning his work at the Uchiha mansion a lot these past weeks. His first suspicion was that Sasuke was going out for drinks, but none of the villagers saw him at any stalls or bars around the village. Then, he thought Sasuke might be going to, err…the red district. You know, to, err… But, he didn't find him there, either. Imagine his surprise when he found out what Sasuke was actually doing that made him so busy: He was stalking Naruto.

Anger and suspicion were Shikamaru's initial feelings of this discovery. If Sasuke ever tried to do anything to Naruto, he would kill that bastard himself. Although Shikamaru had seen Sasuke as a friend, Naruto was more of a friend than Sasuke could ever be. But (fortunately) before he had taken any drastic action, he later discovered a more earth-shattering fact than the first one: Far from trying to hurt Naruto, Sasuke was actually, err… Shikamaru failed to describe it in words (at that time), but there was definitely something from the way Sasuke acted around Naruto.

Now, he thought he knew what word could be used to describe it. He chuckled to himself.

_Never in thousands years did__ I think I would witness the stoic Uchiha acting like this. And the other party is the densest being I've ever met, too. It's so amusing, it's almost pitiful._

"Uncle Shika, why are you laughing by yourself? Are you sick, too?"

Ryu's question brought him back to reality. He smiled at the young boy.

"Nah, I'm not sick. And I don't think your sensei is sick, either. But let's not disturb them; we can continue your practice."

Ryu let out a loud "Yeah!" and they continued with his practice. However, not long after, they heard a loud thump from the two adults, and few seconds later, Naruto was marching back to them in quick steps, leaving Sasuke kneeling on the ground.

"Hi, Shika," Naruto gave Shikamaru in brief greeting, a fleeting smile on his face as he grabbed Ryu's hand. "Come, Ryu. Let's go home. I'll make you some onigiri, or would you…" Naruto's voice faded out as the father-and-son pair walked away.

Shikamaru turned his attention back to Sasuke, who was still kneeling on the ground, and walked toward the man.

"You alright, Sasuke?"

Sasuke gave Shikamaru a pained grunt in return, not bothering to answer as he was busy clutching his broken toe.

"Need any help?"

Taking big breaths to steady himself, Sasuke gave his guardian a cold look. "I've had worse than this." He proceeded to drag himself back home, Shikamaru close behind.

"Yeah, whatever." _Troublesome._

They walked in silence to the Uchiha District; Shikamaru did not bother to ask anything, and Sasuke was not bothered to explain. Shikamaru could have guessed what had happened—he was a genius, after all—by only looking: Naruto became too angry from whatever Sasuke had said and stomped on Sasuke's foot to the point that he broke a toe (or two).

Maybe that would teach Sasuke not to pester Naruto anymore.

909

Sasuke won't stop pestering Naruto short of death. If he had to break another toe just to get Naruto to agree, so be it—his plan to have his own family was just a "Naruto" away; nobody could stop him, not even Naruto himself. Anyway, how hard could it be to get Naruto to say yes? He had never failed to woo anyone before. Heck, he didn't do anything special to woo anyone before— except maybe smile—and women readily threw themselves to his feet (or on his bed… same difference).

But, he realized, this time he might have to do something more than smile—Naruto was not a woman, after all. Limping around his mansion, he racked his brain for ideas. For a very unromantic man like Sasuke, he couldn't come up with brilliant ideas, but he picked an idea or two from when he had lived with Karin once upon a time. He vaguely remembered Karin saying something about flowers, about them being nice and sweet. Maybe he should try that. Maybe not flowers exactly, but something similar.

Racking his brain for another ten minutes to fine-tune the idea, he finally settled on one. Limping his way—his big toe was still hurt—to town, he headed to the nearest florist and tried his best to ignore the curious glances people gave him. He had never been to a flower shop before—no wonder people were curious. Heck, _he_ would be curious himself if he were them.

Sasuke was not there long—after a few minutes, he was already outside of the shop. Now he had a delivery to make. Clutching his purchase with both hands near his chest, Sasuke carried a basket full of flowering plants—he knew Naruto loved plants—with just one intention in mind: courting Naruto.

Thus began the Sasuke's Love Operation 1.0.

909

After he picked up Ryu from school, both of them walked leisurely home. Ryu was the first one to spot the big basket full of plants on their doorstep. He quickly ran to check on it as Naruto stayed closely behind.

"Look, Dada, plants! We can put them near the window together with Kao, Aoi, and Shin!" Ryu said, as excited as ever. He had also loved plants, like his Dada, and had decided to name all the plants that they had. The cheerful boy looked up to his Dada, waiting for approval. A face-splitting grin adorned his face.

Still wary about why there was a basket full of plants on his doorstep but unable to say no to that happy grin, Naruto nodded his head. Ryu let out a loud whoop and dragged the basket inside—he couldn't lift it, since it was too heavy for him, but he didn't allow his Dada to help; he was nearly four, and he could do things on his own, thankyouverymuch.

While Ryu was busy dragging the basket inside, Naruto muttered a quick "kai" to dispel any genjutsu (1). No genjutsu, so the plants were safe. He let out a relieved sigh. Whoever had given them these plants didn't mean any harm. That was great news.

Together, they lined up the pots near the window. They were almost finished when Naruto saw a small card stuck at the base of the basket. It said:

_Not kidding, __usuratonkachi. I already got the rings._

_Uchiha S._

Naruto muttered a quiet "Bastard" and crunched up the small card. He felt like throwing the plants out of the windows, but Ryu, tip-toeing beside him to level himself with the plants, had already tended to them; it would surely break his son's heart if he did that.

So, he closed his eyes instead, trying to calm himself.

_Calm down, __Naruto. No need to have a heart attack. The bastard can do whatever he wants; I won't give a crap. He'll stop after long enough._

If Sasuke wanted to play this crazy game, he could go and play by himself; Naruto wouldn't let himself get sucked into this crazy crap. Nuh-uh. That bastard was insane and acted as such. He—the sane one—would simply ignore the crazy one and hope he got the message that Naruto was not interested.

In addition, he didn't want to draw attention to himself. Funny that, since once upon a time he would have done anything to get attention. But, well, that was before, during the pre-Ryu period. The post-Ryu Naruto was different. He didn't need attention; he needed stability to raise Ryu properly—he wanted to be a good parent to his son—the good parent that he himself never had. If reacting to Sasuke's taunts was gonna start rumours and shake this stability he had established, to hell with Sasuke.

909

Sasuke saw the row of plants near Naruto's window and smiled.

SLO 1.0: a success.

This gave him the courage to smile at Naruto tomorrow. Although he was not the smiling kind of person, he could at least try. Who knows—Naruto might like it.

With that, Sasuke limped his way back from Naruto's compound to his house. He was not there to stalk—really, he swore!—he just wanted to see Naruto's reaction. And since Naruto didn't throw the plants out the window, he took it as a good sign.

909

The next morning, when Sasuke met Naruto at the day-care centre, he smiled. When Naruto's froze, Sasuke congratulated himself. All the women he had flashed his smile to before had reacted the same way: They froze for a few seconds, just like Naruto.

However, he didn't expect the words that came next.

"That was freaky, bastard. You scared the kids," Naruto said with a venomous glare aimed toward Sasuke.

To Sasuke's surprise, his smile indeed scared the kids around him who had had the misfortune of seeing it. And how did he know? For God's sakes, they were crying!

Was his smile really that scary? Maybe he should practice smiling in front of the mirror first before he smiled in public again. _No wonder the women froze up. _Sasuke grimaced.

Naruto kissed Ryu and said his good-bye. Before he turned to leave, he looked at Sasuke with murder in his eyes. "Stop bothering me, bastard." The "or else" didn't need to be said; it was clear in Naruto's warning voice. Sasuke just looked at him with a blank expression, even though he felt a little bit frustrated.

Okay, maybe SLO 1.0 was not as successful as he thought it was, because Naruto didn't seem happy with the gift. But did that weaken Sasuke's spirit? Hell no. Even _with_ the "or else" warning. Sasuke was nothing if not stubborn—he would go to the town again today and buy another gift. He had a lot of time, since he didn't have to go to the old folk's home. The old folks were busy preparing for the bon odori festival, so that left Sasuke free to do whatever he wanted for a week or so—just what he needed: extra time.

909

They were having dinner at home when the delivery arrived. There was a knock at the door, and Ryu was already racing to the door. Naruto pinched his nose. He needed to remember to teach his son not to be too trusting and to always be on the alert. Then again, that boy might already know whom he should trust and whom he shouldn't—he could smell them, after all.

"Can you get your father? I need him to sign this," Naruto heard the delivery boy asked Ryu as he approached them.

"Uzumaki Naruto?"

"Yeah, that's me."

"Please sign this. Would you like us to bring them in?"

"Bring what in?"

Naruto looked outside where he could see a sea of boxes. One of the boxes was greedily torn apart by small hands—Ryu's hands.

_Ramen. What the hell?!_

Boxes and boxes of ramen. In any other situation, Naruto would have done a happy dance, like what Ryu was doing right now, but he had this feeling of dread about where all of the ramen came from.

"Can I return these?" Naruto waved his hand around to indicate the many boxes.

"Sorry, sir." The delivery boy was being polite; no one had ever called Naruto "sir" before. "Uchiha-sama didn't allow that."

Oh, he knew it. That bastard.

"Really? Uchiha-sensei gave this to us? Yeah! I love Uchiha-sensei!"

Naruto's eyes turned cold at Ryu's chirpy response. Did he really hear Ryu used the words "love" and "Uchiha" in a same sentence? Did he? Somebody better say no before Naruto loses it. That bastard really had some nerve, doing something like this.

The delivery boy, who had sensed Naruto's shift of mood, hastily retreated after a polite "Good-night," not wanting to risk his life in Naruto's scary presence a moment longer. Even Ryu grew quiet at his Dada's angry mood.

"Dada?" Ryu ventured carefully. What was his Dada unhappy about? They just got a ton of ramen. For free!

"Ryu." Naruto turned to his son slowly. "We can't accept this. Leave the boxes outside, okay?"

"But why?" Ryu frowned, looking much like Sasuke that it made Naruto hiss under his breath. "I like ramen."

"Okay, if you want to eat ramen, we can go to Ichiraku's tomorrow, okay? But these boxes stay outside." Naruto put on his stern face, which made Ryu give him an unhappy pout.

"Hn. Dada is no fun!" he shouted and ran to their bedroom, obviously sulking.

909

The next night, they didn't go to Ichiraku's. Or, in other words, Ryu didn't go, but Naruto did. Ryu was still sulking and refused to go home with his Dada; it looked like he was madder at Naruto than he had originally thought. Ryu clung to Iruka-sensei the entire time and refused to let go when Naruto came to pick him up from school. Iruka gave Naruto a sympathetic look, mouthed "I'll talk to him," and carried the boy home. This had happened once before—Ryu refusing to go home with him—and he knew he shouldn't be too upset, because tomorrow, Ryu would surely be okay again. Still, there was a whole night to get through without his son.

Tonight was gonna be lonely.

Naruto, in his sad mood, carried himself forlornly to Ichiraku's. He planned to eat as much ramen as he could to drown his sorrows. And eat he did.

By his third bowl, someone sat beside him at the counter. He knew without looking who it was but tried his hardest to simply ignore them. He was sad and didn't want to deal with whatever crap this person wanted to throw at him now.

"Nice try, dobe. Next time, try not to contradict yourself," said Sasuke while sliding a note along the counter—a note that Naruto posted on his own door this morning—to give Naruto a clue of what he was talking about.

Naruto almost forgot about the note since he was busy being upset. Yeah, that was his note alright. The note read:

_If you read this note__, it means that I'm already dead. So stop bothering me, you bastard!!_

_Please take back all these damn boxes, or I'll personally see that you get another broken toe the next time I see you._

_The G__reatest Ninja of all Time,_

_Uzumaki Naruto_.

The note was supposed to keep Sasuke away. He knew it was kinda stupid to hope that a piece of paper could keep Sasuke away, but hey, at least he tried, right? Right!

"F#ck off, bastard! I don't want to talk to you right now."

"Hn."

Ten minutes of silence elapsed between them. Nobody moved from their seat.

"Didn't I say to f#ck off, bastard? Why are you still here? Leave me alone."

"No."

Naruto flicked his eyes in Sasuke's direction for a few seconds. He thought he saw Sasuke's hand move between those few seconds, but since he didn't see the exact movement, he was not very sure. So, he didn't say anything. Once again deeming that Sasuke wasn't worth his attention, Naruto resumed eating his ramen.

The _crack_ of teeth crunching on something hard echoed in the stand.

There was something hard inside his ramen broth. _Must be a rock._

"Hey, old man," Naruto called the attention of the Ichiraku's owner, "There's a rock in my soup." His mouth was still full with food when he said that. Eww, right? But, well… That was Naruto—he was not exactly the most hygienic person around.

"Really? Sorry, Naruto-kun. I'll give ya another bowl, for free. Strange, huh? That's never happened before."

"It's alright," Naruto said as he finally stop chewing and spit out the thing in his mouth onto his palm. The shape felt too weird to be a real rock, so he took a look at the thing carefully. It shaped like a ring.

_Wait-a-minut__e. It _is_ a ring._

"Hey, old man. It's not a rock. It's a bloody ring!"

The old man craned his neck from behind the counter to have a closer look.

"Darn, it really is a ring. How did it get in there?" the old man wondered. As far as he knew, he was very careful in his food preparation. Nothing of this sort had happened to him before. If it was a rock, it might be a little understandable, but a ring? What the hell? He didn't even wear rings.

The old man looked at the ring in Naruto's palm in contemplation. It was a gold ring with a very small diamond attached on the top. It was lovely, to say the least, the kind people bought for an engagement ring.

"You sure that's not yours, Naruto-kun? I don't—"

"No," Naruto cut off the old man's speech, shaking his head, "I don't have a—"

"It's yours, usuratonkachi." This time Sasuke cut Naruto off. "I told you I got the rings."

Naruto stood up in shock so fast that the stool he was sitting on toppled behind him. With his free hand, he pointed an accusing finger at Sasuke, who didn't look the least bit guilty. Instead, Sasuke just looked at the finger in an interest that sent an uncomfortable shiver run through Naruto's body.

"You!! I should have known!!" Naruto quite dramatically let out a loud, angry grunt at this. "What the hell do you mean, 'this is mine'?!"

"It's our engagement ring. See?" Sasuke lifted up his hand for Naruto to see the simple gold band adorning Sasuke's long finger. He grinned a grin that he thought was, err… attractive, at Naruto.

Naruto staggered a few steps back. He didn't want to admit it, but Sasuke's grin was a little creepy to him. It was not like Sasuke's grin was hideous or anything, it just…you know, creepy. It was safe to say that Sasuke's face wasn't made for grinning. Or maybe he just needed to practice smiling before he jumped to grinning.

"The hell!!" Naruto shouted, flinging the ring at Sasuke's forehead and storming out of the Ichiraku's stall, but not before he kicked Sasuke's stool to the ground, along with Sasuke, who was still sitting on it.

All the movement in the stall ceased. Everybody was looking at Sasuke, who was sitting on his butt on the stall's floor, his forehead sporting a ring-shaped mark. Nobody dared to say anything—whether they were too shocked or simply afraid of what Sasuke's reaction would be, nobody knew. As for Sasuke, he brushed off his pants, paid for his and Naruto's ramen, and walked off as if nothing outrageous had just happened.

909

End of Chapter 12, Part 2.

(1) Illusion technique

There'll be a part three. I've written it down, but I'm still uncomfortable with the outcome. So I'm still tweaking it. Sorry.

I want to say thank you to **Slitted Wings** for telling me the meaning of "Pae." My Grandmama was Thai, but I don't know anything about the language.

And to **nativelittle-fox**, you didn't sound rude to me. It's a reminder, and I appreciate it. 'wink' Also, I need all the luck I possibly get for this year.

Jaaa…


	15. SLOSasuke's Love Op Part 3

**Disclaimer: The same disclaimer as before.**

**Edited by Obscure Omen.**

**Chapter 12****: Sasuke's Love Operations...SLO Part 3**

There went SLO 4.0.

Sasuke let out a minor frustrated sigh. After SLO 4.0, he and Naruto should have been engaged. Yet Naruto was proving harder to bend than he had originally thought; he had not made any progress since he had first launched his plan. Naruto still didn't want to be in his general vicinity, and, for some reason, Naruto didn't believe that he was deadly serious about this marriage thing. Even worse, Naruto seemed convinced that he was crazy.

What could he do about that? How do people prove their sanity?

Sasuke shook his head, not allowing his mind to get clouded by things like proving his sanity. He had his SLO tactics to think about, which reminded him that so far, those tactics weren't working. He frowned.

_Never__ mind, SLO 3.0 is still in progress. _Sasuke was trying to be optimistic here._ And just because SLO 1.0, 2.0, and 4.0 were slightly unsuccessful—okay, very unsuccessful—doesn't mean I'll give up._

Sasuke smirked at his thoughts. He just had to be a bit patient; eventually he would get what he wanted. There was a popular phrase in his clan, once upon a time: "What an Uchiha wants, an Uchiha gets." Hell yeah, he'd get what he wanted.

909

Even though he was still sad that Ryu had refused to go home with him, Naruto was quite thankful that Ryu was not here at the moment, because, as of now, he was shouting profanities and damning Sasuke to Hell; he didn't think his son's innocent ears needed to hear that.

He paced around the house like a wild animal in a cage, his mouth continuing to damn Sasuke to hell. It was like a mantra with the way Naruto was chanting it religiously—he had been for close to an hour now. Once in a while he stopped in his pacing to bang his head against the wall in frustration. If his head hurt, he didn't acknowledge it.

After a while, he sat on the sofa. The pacing did reduce his frustration a little; it was probably the tiredness from the pacing that did it. But, that didn't last long. As soon he thought about what had just happened, his temper flared back.

_Gahhhhhhhhhhhh. Why did he do that? And in _public_! I knew it: That stupid bastard is trying to ruin my life._

Naruto could imagine it. _Engagement ring found in ramen broth—details at 11._

And then, everybody was gonna look at him weirdly on top of the wary looks he had gotten all of his life. The bigots and unforgiving public would accuse _him_ of trying to corrupt Sasuke's life, even though this mess was started by Sasuke.

Oh nooo, their precious U-chi-ha was too dignifying a person to start anything immoral. So it _must_ be the demon-boy.

Even if it was not fair, that was how people would look at this—Naruto didn't have any doubt about it. How many times had this kind of unfairness affected him? He couldn't even count all of them. Just because he was a demon-carrier and was once a prankster, he had always been—and probably would always be—the prime suspect.

Over time, he had learned to live through the unfairness. As long as it didn't affect his day-to-day life, he usually didn't give a damn. Still, he didn't want to complicate things, either.

He smashed the sofa with his fist, muttering a "stupid Sasuke." When he realized nothing beneficial came out from doing that (apart from deforming his beautiful new sofa), Naruto stopped and headed to his bedroom.

He plopped himself on the bed, trying hard to think of other things that were not Sasuke-related. Luckily for him, Ryu's birthday popped into his mind like a reminder—that boy would be turning four in three days. He should start making the necessary preparations if he wanted to throw a small birthday party for three- to five-year-olds.

Now, _those _were the kinds of things he should focus on. Thank God he had _that_ to think about, or else he might explode and someone might die. That someone was highly likely to be male, with a name starting with a capital B: the Bastard.

909

The following morning, Naruto went to the Academy, even though he knew that Iruka had already brought Ryu to school with him. He just wanted to check on his son. Besides, it was a habit of his to give his son a good morning kiss whenever he could, and, like they say—whoever "they" are—habits die hard.

Just like he had predicted, he saw his son crouching solemnly at the corner of the day care center. Ryu looked very sad and lonely at the corner. Naruto felt his heart tug a bit at the sadness his son projected—that is, before he saw the big hand on Ryu's shoulder and whose it was. In three big strides, Naruto crossed the room to stand in front of Ryu, push the owner of the hand away, and engulf Ryu in a big hug. Instantly, Ryu hugged him back, burying his face in Naruto's neck.

"What happened to him, Naruto? What did you do to him? He's so sad." Sasuke tried to put his hand on Ryu's head, intending to soothe the boy. Alas, before he could, Naruto slapped his hand away.

"Keep your hands to yourself!" Naruto hissed in warning.

"What did you do to him?" Sasuke repeated himself. He was concerned. When he had arrived this morning, the boy had already been there, sitting at the far-end corner. His face had showed perfect misery, which was alarming to see on Ryu. He was a cheerful little thing; that much sadness was unnatural to see on his face.

Even though Sasuke didn't have any experience with kids—heck, he was the youngest child in his family—his paternal instinct had told him to calm his son. Slowly, Sasuke had gotten close to Ryu to pat the boy's head while unconsciously making soft sounds. Ryu had looked up at Sasuke when he felt someone was patting his head lovingly.

Sasuke had been stunned for a few second when he saw the gloomy face that was staring at him—Ryu, without his smile and with this sad face, almost looked like him when he was a kid, minus the duck-butt hair. His chest expanded with something that suspiciously felt like pride. He had no doubt before that Ryu was his son, but this resemblance made things all the more real. It was a wonder that nobody saw the resemblance. Then again, who would have thought to put two and two together; logic went against it.

"Mind your own business." Naruto felt the accusation cut deep. It was as if Sasuke was accusing him of being an incompetent parent.

"It _is_ mybusiness." Sasuke's temper rose a bit at Naruto's defensive tone, comprised of anger at Naruto for brushing off his concern and at himself for not being calm. Every time he managed to talk to Naruto, he either made Naruto angry or ended up angry or… horny. He never got anything accomplished, a pattern that left him frustrated.

Ryu hugged his Dada harder as he detected the mood shift. Naruto cooed softly to calm his son, gently saying that everything was okay, that he didn't need to be sad anymore. No, Dada was not mad at him; yes, Dada still loved Ryu. By the time he left Ryu for work, he had made three promises to his son: He would make onigiri for dinner tonight, he would practise throwing kunai with Ryu after dinner, and he would throw the best birthday party a four-year-old could ever want.

The last promise brought out a sunny smile from Ryu, and Naruto's day was perfect, Sasuke be damned.

909

The next few days just got better and better for Naruto. For whatever reason, Sasuke didn't pester him as much. It was true: He didn't send anything to his house, and there was no dropping of rings in his ramen. He still stared weirdly at Naruto when they met, but that was a normal occurrence by now—he had gotten used to it.

He just hoped that this would mean Sasuke had stopped with his insane game.

Oh, but Naruto still couldn't become accustomed to the Grin. It was still creepy. Naruto really wished Sasuke would just stop with that

Ryu's exuberant spirit also kept him from thinking about Sasuke. That boy was really excited about his birthday party—which was happening tonight— to the point that Naruto had a hard time keeping him still. Ryu informed him that he had invited many of his friends—his fellow's kindergarteners and Naruto's friends, who were also his friends—to the party with invitations he had made himself. Naruto was so proud of him that he forgot to ask who Ryu had invited.

By 7 PM, almost all of the guests had arrived. They were a few kids—about eight of them—whose parents didn't mind letting their kids associate with Naruto, a.k.a. the Kyuubi-boy. The rest of the guests were Naruto's friends. The kids were playing amongst themselves, and the adults were socializing with each other before the party really started.

In short, everybody looked like they were having a good time, except for a lone figure that was standing near the window, staring at the other guests. Although he was one of the first people who had arrived early, he didn't really do much except for drink a few drinks and talk to the excited birthday boy.

Naruto hadn't let down his guard since the moment that figure stepped into his house. He understood why Sasuke was invited to the party—Sasuke was Ryu's teacher—but that didn't mean he was not pissed off about the situation. What if Sasuke tried to do something, like crash the party? Or kidnapping his Ryu? Yeah, Naruto would be on the alert—who knew what the bastard was gonna do next.

Between being the host to the party—offering drinks, making small talks, and refilling snack bowls—Naruto kept throwing wary glances in Sasuke's direction. Whenever Sasuke caught his glance, he gave Naruto the Grin that gave Naruto goose-bumps.

He really, really hoped Sasuke would stop it with the Grin.

Naruto felt something tug his pants. "What is it, Ryu?"

"Dada, Ryu wants to cut the cake. Please, please, please!?"

"Okay, but don't you want to blow out the candles first?"

"Of course Ryu wants to. Ryu wants to make a wish."

"Okay, then. Call everyone to gather around the cake. Dada'll light the candles, and Ryu can make a wish."

Ryu enthusiastically ran around, getting people to gather round the cake, which was in the shape of a kunai with four candles sticking out of it. Naruto was about to flick on the lighter when Ryu stopped him.

"Dada, I can do it," Ryu stated with so much pride that Naruto wondered what the boy had planned.

The moment Naruto saw the familiar hand signs of the jutsu flash by, his eyes widened. Then, a small flame appeared at the tip of Ryu's finger, and he cheerfully lighted the candles. People surrounded Ryu, "ooh"-ing and "ahh"-ing over Ryu's clever jutsu. Ryu blushed shyly to that but managed to throw a brilliant smile to Sasuke whose eyes were shining with pride.

_The culprit!!_ Naruto's body was shaking with anger. How dare he!?

Slowly disentangling himself from the crowd, which was now on its way to a sugar-high, he made a beeline to Sasuke's prone figure.

"You!!" Naruto stabbed his finger harshly into Sasuke's chest. "Are you trying to get my son killed? He's not ready for any jutsu yet, let alone a fire jutsu, you bastard!! What if he hurt himself? Huh? Huh?!"

Naruto kept stabbing Sasuke with his finger, keeping his voice a few decibels from a full-grown shout.

"He's already four, Naruto. He's big enough. He didn't hurt himself, did he? Stop being so paranoid. And fire jutsu won't really hurt him; fire is his element."

"Oh, and how do you know that, Mr. I'm-perfect-and-know-everything-Sasuke?" Naruto put as much sarcasm he could muster into his words.

"I'm going to be teaching him jutsus, so it's my right to know these things. Besides, fire is my element, too. Every Uchiha's element is fire, and he is an Uchiha."

At this point, Naruto's anger had reached its boiling point. First, that bastard taught his son dangerous jutsu—without his consent! And then he still insisted that Ryu was an Uchiha! Damn it, even if the world insisted that Ryu was an Uchiha, he was still his Ryu—an Uzumaki.

"Sasuke, get out before I commit murder in my own living room."

"I can't. I haven't given Ryu his present yet."

"I don't give a flying fu#k about your present. Get out of my house."

When Sasuke didn't move, Naruto continued, "Look, bastard, I don't want this party to end badly. So, please, get out before something bad happens."

That got Sasuke to move. As if a shadow, Sasuke left silently.

909

The party resumed as normal. Hopefully nobody noticed that the lone figure that had stood near the window in the shadows had gone. But, then again, who would notice a shadow? Naruto looked around to see that the party was still bouncing. Ryu was sitting in the middle of the living room surrounded by the other pre-schoolers, greedily opening his presents. But suddenly, as if he remembered something, he looked around the room. Unable to find what he was searching for, he bounced happily to his Dada, leaving the presents behind with his friends.

Naruto ruffled Ryu's hair when he got close enough. "What presents did you get?"

Ryu grinned. "Ryu got lots of present. Toys, and—and books, and—and crayons, and—and lots more. But—but Ryu wants Uchiha-sensei's present the most!" Ryu jumped from foot to foot in excitement when he said this. "Have you seen Uchiha-sensei, Dada? Uchiha-sensei promised to give Ryu his present tonight!" Ryu almost shouted in his excitement.

"Err…Uchiha-sensei left. He, err… had something else to do."

"No, he doesn't," a girly voice contradicted Naruto. It was Ryu's friend from the day care center. "I heard Uzumaki-san chased Uchiha-sensei away. I'm not lying. I heard them talking." Her face shone with pride at her accomplishment of breaking Naruto's lie. Conspiratorially, she whispered in Ryu's ear, "He also used a bad word."

That tattletale. She'd be a great spy some day.

909

Ryu's face turned sour. He was not sad that his Dada had used bad words. Nuh-uh. Ryu knew his Dada some times used bad language, especially when he talked to Uncle Kiba—he just pretended that he didn't know. Ryu was sad because his Dada had chased away his Uchiha-sensei. Ryu liked Uchiha-sensei. He taught Ryu fire jutsu. And—and Uchiha-sensei promised that—that he would teach him another one if he managed to light the candles tonight. And Ryu did! That was his sensei's present for him, and Ryu couldn't wait to receive it.

And now, his sensei was gone, all because of his Dada. Why did Dada do that? Stupid Dada! Ryu didn't like Dada very much right now, and he told his Dada as much. His Dada looked crestfallen, but Ryu was angry. Ryu didn't understand why his Dada didn't like Uchiha-sensei. Sensei was really kind. He taught Ryu how to throw kunai. He taught Ryu how to do that fire jutsu. Sensei also brought him to his house to play after school. He had a very, _very_ big and nice house. Ryu loved to play there.

Maybe Dada didn't know that sensei was kind; maybe that was why he didn't like sensei. Maybe it was Ryu's fault because Ryu never told Dada about sensei. But Ryu didn't tell because he didn't want his Dada to be angry at him for going to sensei's house without asking permission first. But—but sensei always made sure Ryu was back at school so that Dada could pick Ryu up. Ryu didn't do anything wrong. Ryu just got bored of waiting in the classroom. It was not Ryu's fault that Ryu went to sensei's house without permission.

All in all, for Ryu, his Dada was being mean, and, like Ryu had said before, he didn't like his Dada very much right now; ignoring his Dada completely, he went back to his presents.

"Don't be so sad, Naruto. At least he didn't say he hates you." Iruka's hand patted Naruto's shoulder reassuringly.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. But I still feel bad about it-tebba." Naruto's tone was uncharacteristically dejected.

"He's just confused. He'll be okay. Do you need any help cleaning? Everyone has gone home; there are only a few left. I can help before I leave."

Naruto looked around, and, true to what Iruka had said, there were not many guests left. The others must have gone back when he was busy berating himself—he hadn't even noticed their goodnights.

"Ahhh… I can handle it, sensei. I'm off tomorrow, so I don't mind cleaning this all night. You still have class tomorrow, and it's already late."

Iruka gave Naruto a smile, and after a few minutes, he went home along with the last of the guests.

Naruto looked at the other occupant of the room; he was still sulking while playing with his new toys.

"Ryu. It's already late. We should go to bed."

With a loud "humph," Ryu got up, stormed to the bedroom, and buried himself under the blanket.

"Don't you want to wash—"

"Don't want to!" Ryu shouted back, his voice muffled by the blanket.

Naruto let out a sad sigh. Ryu was still mad at him. He'd better let him be for an hour or two. He knew his son: If he joined him now, he would get even madder.

Naruto used his free hours wisely, taking the time to clean up the mess. It took him almost two hours to finish. After that, without making too much noise, he took a shower—Naruto assumed Ryu had already fallen asleep, as the bedroom was quiet.

Finished with cleaning himself and the house, he went to bed. The empty bed, to be precise, which for all intents and purposes, was not supposed to be empty: Ryu was supposed to be there. Naruto held down the panic that threatened to crawl up his throat. He checked under the bed, inside the closet, in the living room, in the kitchen, in the bathroom, outside the window. Nothing. Ryu was not here. His chakra signature was just a trace, not the real thing.

Now Naruto was truly panicking. Did his son run from home? If he did, where would he go? Iruka-sense's? Sakura's? Tsunade-baa-san's? Where?

His heart was beating furiously at the same time that his head was trying to think of what to do—it was not an easy task.

_Iruka-sensei. Check Iruka-sensei's house first._

Naruto sped to Iruka-sensei's at the speed of a bullet.

_He's not here._

So he checked every house he could think of. Ryu was not in any of them. Oh God, he was starting to hyperventilate. He ran around in circles, hoping to find any trace of Ryu's chakra. Fortunately, when he got near to the Uchiha district, the chakra traces became stronger. He felt very stupid. Why didn't he think to come here first? Of course, it was the Uchiha who had kidnapped his son. Who else would've?

Panic forgotten, he marched up to Sasuke's door and knocked loudly—if the door broke down, it would be even much better. He wanted to just barge in and take Ryu away, but he wanted to hear what Sasuke had to say about this first.

As if he'd known that Naruto would be coming, two bangs later a pajama-clad Sasuke opened the door.

"Where's my son, ya bastard!! You kidnapped him!!" Again with the finger stabbing, he emphasized every word with a stab.

Sasuke caught the finger-weapon. Naruto might think the finger stabbing action was intimidating, but to Sasuke it was, err… something else. The more Naruto stabbed him, the more distracted he became. Actually, any physical contact with Naruto made him distracted.

"He's sleeping in his room, and, for your information, I didn't kidnap him. He came here by himself."

"You think I'm gonna believe that? Why would he want to come here by himself? He doesn't even know where you live," Naruto sighed tiredly. His mind tried not to go into overdrive over the "sleeping in his room" statement; he'd deal with that later. "Whatever. Just—just show me where he is, okay? I'll take him home."

"Like I said, he's in his room. He's tired, Naruto, let him sleep." Sasuke paused. "He does know where I live, y'know. He's come here many times."

Naruto, as Sasuke had expected, gave him a piercing glare but didn't say anything. They just stood there in Sasuke's massive living room in silence for a few minutes.

Sasuke was having an internal conflict with himself. This was the exact moment that he had been waiting for: Naruto and him, face-to-face, without Naruto screaming bloody murder at him. In all honesty, Sasuke had many things to say, but, godamnit, he didn't know how to say them or what he should say first.

At long last, Naruto broke the silence. His voice was wary and tired—it was already past midnight, after all, and he had just finished cleaning his house for hours.

"Look, Sasuke. I'll just take Ryu home." When Sasuke started to protest, he continued, "He won't wake up, he must be really tired; he'll be sleeping like a log. Just—just… Could you just leave me and Ryu alone after this? And—and stop whatever it is you're thinking you're doing, alright? Even prank has its limit, ya know? How about this: I get the f#ck out of your way and you get the f#ck out of mine. Deal?"

"You don't believe me." No deal.

'Of course I don't believe you, you f#ck-head! Nobody would believe that bullcrap. I mean, we're talking about a guy proposing to a guy here, you bastard. Have you become retarded after all these years? Besides, you tried to kill me twice….or was it thrice? And you expect me to believe that you want to settle down now… with _me_? You must be dumber than a doorknob if you think I'd believe a bastard like you. _Especially_ a bastard like you,' was what Naruto wanted to say, but he was too tired to give such a speech. Instead he settled with, "Whatever, bastard. Just show me where Ryu is."

"Conundrum Platform.(1)"

"Wha—"

"Conundrum Platform. At 2 PM. Be punctual."

"F#ck you! Who gave you permission to order me around?"

"I'm serious, and you better be there. Or..." _Or what, Sasuke? _Well, Sasuke didn't know yet what he would do if Naruto didn't show up. The key point was that Naruto had to show up. So, Sasuke put a little menace in his voice when he said the next word, "else."

"What? Are you blackmailing me now?"

_Hmm. Blackmail would work…_

He gave Naruto a blank look, giving no sign of whether he agreed or disagreed with Naruto's accusation.

"Just be punctual and you won't regret anything." Okay, he didn't mean to sound threatening at all, but Naruto would perceive it as that. _Good._

"Go to hell, bastard!" were Naruto's parting words.

909

"I still think this is not a good idea." Shikamaru was trying to cover his fidgeting with small talk. Heck, Shikamaru didn't do small talk, but he was fidgeting, and fidgeting was way more uncool than small talk, so it was okay to do that.

"Hn." The monosyllable replies were not helping.

"Kuso. I'm not sure people are gonna get mad because you took this P.A. system without proper permission or because of what you plan to do with it." _Troublesome._

"If you're gonna talk, leave."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. This was what he got for showing support. Yeah, support, it's not your imagination—Shikamaru was really giving Sasuke support; he helped Sasuke steal the P.A. system from the Academy, after all. If anything happened to the set of electronic equipment, he'd get the blame.

Usually he wouldn't even dream of giving such support—in any case—but when Sasuke approached him that morning and asked him where he could get a speaker and a microphone, Shikamaru got curious. Of course Shikamaru asked about what the heck he wanted with a speaker and a microphone, but _of course,_ Sasuke didn't tell.

The only way he could find out was to cooperate. But since he didn't trust Sasuke to handle such equipment with the care he was supposed to, he had to come along.

That explained why he was with Sasuke at Conundrum Platform, ten minutes before 2 PM, wondering what the heck Sasuke was doing up here setting up a microphone to the P.A system.

"I'm here to supervise."

"Then supervise quietly."

Not one to argue, Shikamaru walked to the brick rail and leaned on it to supervise quietly.

Sasuke was done with attaching all the equipment and now was testing the microphone with a tap and a "hello, hello, testing, 1, 2, 3." He adjusted the microphone stand to his height and waited; he stood still, but his eyes were wild, scanning the crowd below him.

What he was waiting for, Shikamaru didn't know for sure, but he had an idea or two—he just hoped that he was wrong. Shikamaru looked at Sasuke for any signs. Nothing. Sasuke's face was blank. He would make a good poker player if he was interested in the game.

Shikamaru joined Sasuke in scanning the crowd below them. From Shikamaru's observation, there was nothing unusual down there—people came and went from point A to point B, people stopped for a chat, the usual—until he spotted something yellow and orange hiding behind a tree.

Sasuke cleared his throat.

Shikamaru quickly looked back at Sasuke. Sure enough, Sasuke had stopped scanning the crowd and now was focused on that yellow spot below them.

_Damn. _Shikamaru was not wrong. This set up had something to do with Naruto, and, by the look of it, this spelled Disaster with a capital D. As a good citizen of Konoha, Shikamaru should try to stop this from happening, should try to grab the microphone from Sasuke and run like hell with it.

But, since Shikamaru was not a good citizen, he did nothing of the sort. Hey, he was a good ninja; he didn't have to be a good citizen, too—that was too much work.

"Konnichiwa, minna-san." Sasuke cleared his throat. He waited for a few seconds until he was sure he had some of the villagers' attention—he had to make sure at least few of the villagers were paying attention or else this would be useless. To his credit, some of them were starting to gather into a crowd below the platform. The rest were scattered around but stayed close enough so that they could hear him.

"I have an important announcement to make."

909

Naruto didn't want to go, honest. He'd rather go to the Academy to meet his son or go grocery shopping. But curiosity gnawed at him. More like gnawed, chewed, and spit him back out. So he went, just to take a peek. He wouldn't exactly go to the platform per se, but he'd get close enough just so he could see what Sasuke was up to because—because who could tell what Sasuke was up to, right? He might do something stupid again. Who knows? If Naruto was there, he could probably prevent it or something, right? After all, shouldn't one know one's enemy better than one's friend? Yeah, Naruto needed to know what Sasuke was up to just so he could counter him when the time comes.

Well, not really. Those were just excuses. The real thing was that Naruto was curious, but admitting he was curious was like admitting that he paid attention to Sasuke, so…yeah, he was not curious just, err…trouble-preventing.

So here he was, hiding behind a big tree, trying to save the day. A few passersby looked at him weirdly, but he ignored them. If they knew he was trying to save the day, they would look at him with adoration in their eyes instead of disdain.

909

Unbeknownst to Naruto, even with all of ninja grace in the world, Sasuke still spotted him. Don't get it wrong: Naruto did an excellent job blending in with the surroundings, but Sasuke's sharingan was far superior. Even if Naruto could make himself one with the tree, Sasuke could still spot him. Then again, who would have missed the tuft of blond hair and the orange jacket?

"Konnichiwa minna-san…san…san… I have an important announcement to make… make… make…"

At that, Naruto's heart began to beat furiously. Okay, of the many things that he guessed would happen, he didn't expect this. He expected a challenge or a fight or something along those lines. But an announcement? What did that bastard want to announce that had to do with him being here? His mind ran a hundred miles per hour thinking of what Sasuke could possibly want to announce. Was it about Ryu?

His heart lurched into a painful rhythm. If it was really about Ryu, he would—he would… damn. He didn't know what he would do.

_Please don't let it be about Ryu! Please don't let it be about Ryu!_

He was so busy chanting and freaking out that he had almost missed Sasuke's real announcement.

"I, Uchiha Sasuke, do hereby make an official announcement to marry Uzumaki Naruto… to… to… to."

A pause, a clearing of a throat. Sasuke's stare was trained on Naruto who was now gaping like a fish out of water.

"Further announcements will be made after a date is confirmed… firmed… firmed… firmed. Thank you for your time… ime… ime… ime."

A click was heard as Sasuke turned off the microphone. Nevertheless, he was still staring at Naruto, waiting for his reaction. The fact that Naruto didn't run away could be a good sign—this just might have worked as Sasuke wanted it to.

As for Naruto, all of his blood rushed north, leaving him incapable of running—the reason why he was still there. His face was flaming so hot with embarrassment and anger that he knew that, at the moment, his face was red.

_What the fu#king… Fu#k, that bastard… whatthehell…_

He wished he could pretend that this was just a nightmare. He wished he could pretend that this was just his imagination. But the hundreds of stunned eyes that were looking pointedly at him were telling him that _this_ was real, that bloody announcement was real and by tomorrow everybody would know. And when he said everybody, he meant _everybody_—the news would reach Suna in three hours flat. (Never underestimate ninja gossipers.)

Blood rushed farther north, making him feel light-headed as all the oxygen was pumped into his brain, and he did what he had promised not to do anymore, something that he swore to God he'd knocked himself unconscious before doing again, something that was gonna cause him his manly pride if he did it again:

He fainted.

909

Sasuke was back at his mansion, sitting on one of the sofas near the bed in his bedroom. His eyes were focused on the figure in his bed. Naruto was lying still on his bed; he was still unconscious from before.

He would have never thought Naruto would faint. Seriously, he didn't. He didn't mean any harm at all. He'd anticipated an angry or violent reaction—or even, as he hoped, an acceptance. But never this. _This _made him feel guilty.

For God's sakes, he just wanted to prove to Naruto that he was bloody serious. He wanted Naruto to believe him—he had no other motive. Because, he thought, if he made it official, it would make the proposal more real. And how else could he make it official if not through the public?

Thus the official public announcement.

Naruto fainting was unexpected. When he saw him fall to the ground—in a speed a normal human's eyes could not see—he was beside Naruto, leaving Shikamaru behind to deal with the P.A. system. Ignoring the chatters around him, he scooped up Naruto and sprinted to his house, err… mansion. He didn't wait to see people's reactions to his announcement or to the way he handled the unconscious Naruto.

Now, thirty minutes later, Naruto was still unconscious.

A little worried, Sasuke stood a little closer to re-check if he had missed anything the first time around. Nope. Nothing wrong, just a small bump at the back of the head, nothing major. His eyes looked clear, too; he should have woken up by now.

_Wait. His eyes?_

Naruto had opened his eyes while Sasuke was re-checking him. The blue eyes were unfocused for a minute, but then pure fury began shining through them. An unexpected fist landed on Sasuke's face. Sasuke would have fallen back if not for Naruto's fingers curling around his shirt front.

Naruto attacked; Sasuke dodged—like _that_ was something new. They rolled around in the bed trying to outdo each other, the bed cracking dangerously.

"You S.O.B.! What the f#ck did you do that for, you freaking bastard?!"

Sasuke didn't answer. He would have liked to, but he was busy protecting himself.

All of a sudden, the door opened. Someone cleared their throat. "If you guys are gonna get X-rated, I'll come back in, err… half an hour."

The door closed, but even then they could hear the word "troublesome" being said in frustration.

Both of them froze. Shikamaru's comment made them take notice of their situation at hand: Sasuke was on top of Naruto, trying his hardest to pin the smaller boy's hands over his head while Naruto's legs were being cradled by Sasuke's thighs to keep him from kicking him.

Indeed, it did looks like they were engaging in an X-rated activity.

They both turned red, Naruto because he was angry, and Sasuke because he was, um… aroused.

909

End of chapter 12.

(1) Honestly? I don't know what they call the platform underneath the Hokage Mountain. It's that platform that the elders, Jiraiya, and Tsunade meet for meetings or something. I searched for the name, but I don't think Kishimoto-sensei ever mentioned it.

Finally, chapter 12 has ended. I'm gonna celebrate it with a block of chocolate. Wahahahah. Hmm.

Err. Right. So how do you think Sasuke's SLO 3.0 was? What will happen next now that everybody knows about their "affair"? Is Sasuke gonna get any stupider? Is Naruto gonna get any brighter? God forbid he gets any dumber; then nothing can help.

And, where's the angst in this story? Is there gonna be any?

I dunno.

Anyway, for this part's early posting say thanks to these guys. If you happen to see them on the street, say, "Hey, thanks, man." Hehe.

**narsas, LemonDomination, Midna, Broken Sexed Up Bloody Kitten, blue-nuriel, roboguy45, clippit, yourbabykitsune, Broken Blood Drops, sulie, Saki-chan, AlchemyGaara, redfoxmoon, Fumetsu Kaji, fer3333, Yolei Chang, blkwingangel, sailor steller moon, AngelMariaRouge, Stephanie8D, lamia ninja, greeneboy313, Lintila, phoenix, Midnight Crisis, strawberrychan1, Inu-bitch, Ninahavoc, kyothefallenkit, skyinthenightslove, Sprig, bannana2, ferretsthesave, a kitsune slight, Yuuko Uchiha, smartlikeshikamaru, SakuraKissy, LadySerenity0000, gurie, HPTR Fangirl, Twilight Goddess Sage, 7thtreasure, JuMiKu, NickyNakole, Dark Horse, lilyoftheval5, Paige Taylor, JaRyse, Ongaku-sama Ey, Stoic-Genius, YaoixLove.**

But most of all, please thank my editor, **Obscure Omen**, for making this story better. If it was left to me, there'll be bunch of mistakes.

Next chapter's title:

**Chapter 13: Temari of the Nara Clan (Or How Kabuto Accidently Became a Matchmaker)**


	16. Temari of the Nara Clan

**Disclaimer: **Naruto characters are not mine. Pardon me for borrowing it.

A slow SasuNaru story (so be patient).

I combined the two parts, so the first was unedited. Second half was edited by Obscure Omen.

**Yo, this chapter is getting longer and longer; I hate it. Well, whatever.**

**Chapter 13 : Temari of the Nara Clan ( Or How Kabuto accidentally became a Matchmaker)**

Sasuke looked closely at the face whose body he pinned under him. The hot anger playing across those expressive blue eyes fascinated him. This was the second time he had the opportunity to look closely at them; the first time was right before their accidental kiss, once upon a time.

Looking at those eyes, he knew he had a new favourite colour: cerulean blue. Maybe he ought to paint the Uchiha mansion….wait, scratched that, the _whole_ Uchiha district with that colour—he was certain he would never get tired looking at it.

Naruto struggled and Sasuke tightened his hold on Naruto's hands. Keeping Naruto under his hold this long was quite an achievement actually. Usually, due to Naruto's excessive power—courtesy of Kyuubi—he would have had thrown Sasuke off in record time. However since he was still recuperating from his fainting spell, Sasuke had the advantage.

And this kind of advantage was one that Sasuke wouldn't miss.

Trapping Naruto under him felt….delicious—for the lack of a better description. Sasuke's body tingled with uncalled excitement. Unconsciously, he pressed his body closer to the smaller frame underneath him to get more of that delicious feeling; drizzled of desire ran through him like electricity. Hard press of body against body, even with clothes, managed to do that to Sasuke, he didn't want to imagine what would happen to him if they both were…without clothes.

"Get off me, you bastard!!"

_Uh-huh. That enticing mouth moves._ Sasuke was mesmerized; he could see the pink tongue. Sasuke own tongue licked his own lips in anticipation.

"I said, get off me!!"

Naruto shrugged with all his strength to throw off Sasuke. The bastard had a strong hold on him which made his attempt futile. Supposedly, such hold wasn't much to keep him still but he was having problem focusing due to the throbbing pain at the back of his head; it was like a killer headache. Besides, all the rolling he had done with Sasuke before only made him more disoriented.

He needed to stay still for another few minutes to be back to his normal strength and after he regained his strength—believe it!—Sasuke would be a dead-meat.

Naruto used those few minutes to stare at Sasuke in contempt. This rude jerk; this insufferable bastard; this stinking SOaB had ruined his life!!

Tomorrow was gonna be a disaster. He could almost picture it now: talks behind his back, disgusting looks and ostracization. Although he didn't know for sure how the mass would react to what had happened, but one thing he was sure of, it was not gonna be pretty.

And it was all because the bastard couldn't keep his mouth shut. Stupid bastard!!

Naruto flexed his finger, testing his strength. The throbbing on his head had faded to a dull throb and now, he was able to fully concentrate again. Quickly, with a stunning show of strength, he pulled one of his hands from Sasuke's grasp and punched Sasuke in the eye.

Sasuke staggered backward. Not letting go of this opportunity, Naruto kicked Sasuke's middle abdomen and managed to throw him across the room; Sasuke's back collided painfully with the wall—the wood wall vibrated dangerously behind him.

Not giving Sasuke enough time to recover, Naruto attacked again. He threw his fist at Sasuke's head but luckily, Sasuke's reaction time was faster; he caught Naruto's fist and twisted his hand so that Sasuke could hold said hand at Naruto's back. Sasuke's other hand was stapled at Naruto's neck—at his most vulnerable point. He was hoping by doing that, he could keep Naruto still for awhile.

"Calm down, Usuratonkachi. I don't want to hurt you. Let's—"

"To hell with your calm down!" Naruto elbowed Sasuke's stomach; Sasuke jumped a few steps back to avoid the assault.

In the few seconds that it took Sasuke to jump back, Naruto had already activated his Rasengan. The blue orb was spinning over his right palm. If Sasuke was not so busy protecting himself, he would have been impressed on how fast Naruto could produce the blue spinning orb.

With a cry of "Die, Sasuke!!" Naruto lunged towards Sasuke, intended to impale the bastard with his Rasengan.

Sasuke moved with a lightening speed before the Rasengan could really make a new hole on his body. He transported himself behind Naruto and the Rasengan hit the wall near where he stood mere moments ago. The wood wall went 'kaboom' and it crumbled unceremoniously to the floor leaving a gaping hole there.

"Wait, Naruto."

Naruto took a 180 degree turn to face Sasuke (who was behind him). Sasuke immediately continued with what he wanted to say when he saw Naruto had begun to swirl another blue orb.

"What are you so angry for?"

Naruto halted every movement that he was about to make, caught off guard at that seemingly stupid question. Was this for real, he didn't know?! Naruto stood very still, staring at Sasuke; Sasuke looked genuinely confused though.

"What? What?!! Don't tell me you freaking don't know!! Haven't you heard yourself?!! You announced to the whole village we are going to get freaking married!!"

"And? I don't see anything wrong with that. Besides, I have to; you don't believe me."

"About what?"

"About my intention to marry you."

Naruto's jaw dropped open. _Oh my freaking shit! _

He couldn't believe this guy. What was wrong with him??!! He didn't have any common sense, did he? God gave him a perfect look, a helluva large of fortune, top ninja skills, a sharp mind (amongst other things) but God didn't give him common sense!

Ha, take that fan girls; Uchiha Sasuke was not perfect.

"I don't believe you and then you went to announce it to the villagers?" _Are you nuts? _Naruto made a very dumbstruck expression.

"Hn." _ Brilliant, eh?_ Sasuke was smirking, "Do you believe that I'm serious now?" Naruto still made that dumbstruck expression; Sasuke took it as a yes, so he continued, "Good. Now we can make the necessary preparations."

"No way, bastard!! Even—even if I believe you, what make you think _I_ wanna marry you, you sick bastard. In case you stupid eyes can't tell, I'm not a girl." _'m not a girl, dammit. Dammit. Dammit. How many times do I have to say this!!_

Sasuke had half the mind to tell Naruto that hell, yeah, he did know that Naruto was absolutely _not_ a girl; he'd checked—a couple of times, in fact. However, he was not suicidal, so he decided to keep the information to himself, for now.

"Hn, of course I know, stupid, but that does not matter."

Naruto's mouth moved but no words came out. He wanted to shout something; wanted to say something; wanted to _do_ something but what he could possibly say to that?

Shit. Sasuke made his head hurt—thinking really made his head hurt. Now that he began to see that Sasuke was indeed serious, Sasuke sounded a bit scary. Why oh why Sasuke turned out to be like this? Couldn't he just be his emo and brooding self; it saved Naruto a lot of headache.

"Hell no, bastard. Of course it matters! They taught that in school, remember? Boys, girls. Not boys, boys, baka!!" Naruto desperately made wild gestures with his hands, hoping that Sasuke would understand what he wanted to convey here.

"Then, obviously, they taught wrong. As I recalled, they also taught men can't get pregnant."

Naruto's body stiffened at that. Shit. For somebody who rarely talks, Sasuke sure could twist his words. Naruto was once again left with no words to retort. He, for one, could not say that was not true. Damn Sasuke for taking advantage of that fact.

They stood there unmoving, looking at each other. Naruto was in speechless state but his mind was in frenzy, trying to come out with something to convince the common-sense-elusive Sasuke that they wouldn't get married anytime soon; if at all.

On the other hand, Sasuke was just waiting. He was waiting for Naruto to just accept this and did nothing _but_ marry him.

"Whatever Sasuke. We _can't _get married and I as sure as hell don't want to marry you."

Naruto couldn't emphasize the word 'can't' enough if he tried.

"Why won't you marry me?" Sasuke's voice sounded a little exasperated.

"Why _you_ want to marry me?" Naruto's voice was tinted with curiosity, "Do you love me or something?" Because people usually get married because they loved each other.

Nobody could tell but Sasuke was a bit taken aback by that question. And, what more puzzling was, he didn't have a straight answer to that.

_Or something? Maybe?__ I don't know. How should I know about something like that?_

"No." Sasuke settled for 'no' for now. It was a better answer than 'or something', at least.

Naruto couldn't see Sasuke's inner debate with himself so that answer, the No, sounded absolute. Something in him clenched in sadness (and disappointment) which befuddled him; he didn't understand why he felt sad at all. He didn't expect Sasuke to say 'yes', did he? Why would he expect something as ridiculous as that anyway? Sasuke didn't love him—that was not something new; he knew that. They were rivals; they were _supposed_ to hate each other.

"Heh," Naruto tried being cocky to cover his real feeling, "Then what? Make babies?"

Sasuke didn't answer him but he also didn't disagree with him, which spoke volume. Naruto could feel his hackles rose; his temper boiled; his murder intent intensified.

"Fu#k, bastard!! You really piss me off!! Who do you think I am? Your whore?!"

Naruto was angry. He was furious. He was livid. He was everything you could associate with the angry emotion; sadness and disappointment totally forgotten.

"Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh……"

A blue orb already in his hand, Naruto charged at Sasuke. This time, Naruto succeeded to blow the bed into tiny little splitters; Sasuke was a few safe steps away from him.

He failed attempt to make a hole through Sasuke's chest _and_ seeing Sasuke was still bodily intact made him madder. He threw a powerful kick—of all time—at Sasuke and smiled in satisfaction when he heard a crack sound as Sasuke fell on the floor. He was about to finish it off with a throw of several kunais to Sasuke's chest when Shikamaru barged in and trapped him in his shadow jutsu.

"Let go of me, Shika. That bastard deserves to die!" Naruto roared. Oh boy, was he angry or what. And Shikamaru's entrapment only fuelled the anger. Why was Shikamaru stopping him from the thing he had the right to do? Dammit, it would give a world justice to kill that arrogant bastard.

"No, can't do that. Nobody wants to see either of you die. Well, at least, not yet." The last part was a mumble but the other two heard him, he guessed. Well, at least Sasuke heard him caused he turned to look at Shikamaru, bloody lips and all.

Shikamaru turned his focus back to Naruto, not giving Sasuke any reply from his questioning gaze. He put more chakra into his binding cause Naruto was putting more effort to escape; Shikamaru hoped Naruto wouldn't use his extra chakra to escape his binding. Else, he would have been in a disadvantage.

_Look at this mess_. Shikamaru sighed out loud, still maintaining his hold on Naruto. He left this two for just _half_ an hour and looked what they had managed to do in that short period of time; someone probably would have died if he had gone for much longer.

"Let me go Shika."

"If I let you go, will you promise to not harm anyone?"

Naruto was silent.

"Don't you have someone to pick from school, Naruto?" Shikamaru tried a different tactic. He knew what Naruto ultimate weakness was: Ryu; and he was gonna exploit it.

"Ryu." Naruto's voice turned soft.

_Score. _Shikamaru cheered to himself. Now, the next step: guilty trip.

"Yeah, Ryu. He must be wondering why his Dada hasn't come yet."

Naruto's shoulder slumped. In his madness, he forgot about Ryu. What kind of parent was he? Abandoning everything else just because he was too consumed by anger? Che, he was no Sasuke. He was better than that.

"Shika. Let me go. I. I've got to go pick him."

Shikamaru slowly let off his jutsu. His eyes were still studiously watching those two. Naruto was still angry, he could tell but with an amazing show of control, he didn't strike Sasuke. Instead, he picked up his hitae-ate from among the mess and left the room.

909

Sasuke was sitting on the corridor facing his back compound. Once in awhile he turned to look at his bedroom or what was left of it. As of now, he didn't have a bedroom. He got to choose another new room from hundreds of available rooms in the mansion to be his new bedroom.

And he was gonna paint it cerulean blue.

Somebody joined him at the corridor; it was Shikamaru, with a pack of ice.

"Here." He offered the ice to Sasuke and pointed towards his eye to indicate what he wanted Sasuke to do with his black eye. The black eye looked nasty and surely must hurt like hell. The ice pack should lessen the pain a little.

"Hn." Was Sasuke's only response before he took the pack of ice from Shikamaru—by now, Shikamaru had already known that 'hn' was as good as he could get by way of gratitude from the Uchiha guy.

"If you should know, I've returned the PA system without a hitch."

"Hn."

Shikamaru looked at Sasuke to inspect if he had an ounce of guilt for abandoning him alone at the platform to clean up the mess after he left. Tough luck. Except from grimace of pain when he padded the ice pack a little too hard, Sasuke's face was devoid of guilt.

Convinced that Sasuke wouldn't say anything anymore after that, Shikamaru looked around to access the damage. Splinters of wood were everywhere in the bedroom. The bed was gone. The sofa had burn mark on it. From where they sat, he could still smell it—the burn.

The room adjoining Sasuke's bedroom came out with less damage. Furniture in it was still intact but there were splinters of wood on the floor.

All in all, it would at least take a day for Sasuke to clean up the mess, what with the injuries he surely suffered from the fight. His heavy breathing indicated something was hindering the flow of air in his lung; it might be the ribs. He had offered to bring him to hospital but a glare from Sasuke was enough to show that he wouldn't budge.

Hard-headed bastard.

At one point, Shikamaru found this situation funny. Sasuke and Naruto were not married, _yet_, but there was already domestic violent going on. Looking at Sasuke now, he really looked like a husband that was being abused by his 'wife', what with his black eye and what not.

That made him wonders, why Sasuke wanted to marry that kind of abusive 'wife'.

Shikamaru told Sasuke so and he received a death glare in return from that said 'abused husband'.

Shikamaru laughed at him; the death glare was not really effective with the black eye; as ineffective as Neji's glare was.

"It must be love then," Shikamaru said wistfully and sarcastically.

Sasuke jerked a little at Shikamaru's last comment. There it went. That word again: _love_. Naruto had said the same word during their fight. He might be joking sarcastically by asking him that, but since then, Sasuke had been thinking seriously about it.

He was dead sure before, that it was not love (or anything) when he made his decision to 'unite' his family. Now, after the stalking, proposing and everything, he was not so sure anymore. Did he really…

Well, honestly he didn't know. He wished he knew because it confused him as hell. How to tell that he was…feeling anything towards that dobe? He would readily confess, if needed to, that he was lusting after Naruto and his life felt a lot less dull whenever Naruto was around and got freaking protective where Naruto and Ryu were concerned and…yeah; the list was endless.

But were those feeling really lo—…he couldn't say the word; he felt like if he said it, it would cloud his thinking or something—that word _was_ that scary.

Anyway, if those feelings really represented you-know-what, well, he-he…..damn, he had had those feelings towards Naruto since so long ago; since they were still genin; since he started to see Naruto as his friend. The only different now was there was no lust. That made him confused. He couldn't probably, you know, err…L him from so long ago, could he? It didn't make sense. He was not gay. Really. No joke—he jerked off sometime too and it always to an imaginary girl.

Okay, maybe not now, but before he returned here, it was always girls. Besides, he didn't find men attractive, although he also didn't find girls that much attractive either.

So what did that makes him? Was he a bi? An asexual? Or gay?

To prove his point, Sasuke tried to imagine some guys that, in his twenty years of life, that maybe, _sort of _kind of way, that he found err…remotely good looking. Kakashi-sensei's face came to mind but he quickly dismissed it because he had never seen that shitty jounin face for real.

Remembering, he must admitted that Haku was quite good looking but hell if he was attracted to him. He didn't feel anything.

Scrunching his forehead, thinking hard, he thought, Sai was not bad looking either. But nahhhh, he was not interested.

Shikamaru moved and that reminded Sasuke that the lazy sloth was still sitting beside him. He looked at Shikamaru, hard, trying to sense if he felt any tingling or a surge of pleasure or anything like when he looked at Naruto.

"What?"

He could see that Shikamaru was uncomfortable being stared like that; he was fidgeting.

"Nothing."

Exactly. Nothing. That must mean one thing, he was not gay. Although it was too early to make that conclusion but…yeah…at least his initial test said he was not—that should be good enough.

Okay now that _that_ was clear—that he was not gay—how could he explain these weird feelings?

He really preferred not to associate those feelings with love—there, he said it—cause he remembered what love had caused him.

Cause he had loved, once upon a long time ago.

He had loved his mom; he had loved his dad. And he had loved his brother too.

Nothing good had come out of that.

He loved his father but his father had always favoured his brother.

He loved his mother—and he was sure that his mother loved him too—but she went up and died and left him alone in misery.

He had loved his brother but his brother killed all other person that he had loved.

So—if he could help it—to associate what he was feeling right now to love, he rather not; love only reminded him of bad memories and pain. _Trying_ to love somebody else again would make him a fool.

_Shit, how come things__ become so complicated._ Sasuke was not good with this emotion-thingy thing; it was kinda complicated and messy.

Even when he was in his avenger phase, things never got so messy or complicated. He had a clear goal and he had taken a single-minded-obsession approach to achieve it. It was easy; Itachi killed. Sasuke angry. Sasuke trained. Sasuke killed. Sasuke happy. End of story. He might sounds like a caveman but whatever got the job done, right?

He applied the same approach with Naruto; Sasuke saw, Sasuke liked, Sasuke conquered.

Alas, it was not that easy with Naruto; he never did go past the like part.

He thought it was gonna be easy. What could go wrong, right? If he could kill Itachi, who was a psychopath killer, how hard could it be to conquer err…court Naruto? It should be a breeze, right?

Well, the answer was wrong. It was not a breeze. It was a hurricane and if Sasuke wasn't Sasuke, he would already give up. Sasuke would never have thought that Naruto would say no.

Seriously.

Sasuke considered himself a pretty decent guy: he had money to support him and his family; he was an okay looking guy—not ugly and not really handsome either; he was loyal—no doubt about that. And as unromantic a person that Sasuke was, he knew those were the required husband materials and _he_ was all of those.

Naruto wasn't supposed to say no.

Besides, they already had a child together. It was, really, a respectful thing to do to ask Naruto to marry him. That way, his son could be acknowledged publicly as the heir of the most honourable clan in this village.

They would be perfect as a family.

The problem was to make Naruto to see it that way. How could he get Naruto to say yes? Threaten him? Use a jutsu? Challenge him to a fight?

Now that he had used up all of his S. and all dried up for ideas, he was wondering how other people get to make the other party to say yes. He'd never had thought to ask anyone before because _he_ had his own plans; why bother with other people opinions anyway. But now, opinions would be nice…

_Yeah, what to do now?_ Should he ask Shikamaru about it? Since he was going to get married in less than a month anyway, he must knew a thing or two about…asking (Sasuke was reluctant to use 'propose'). Yeah, he should know something cause then, that Temari wouldn't want to say yes.

Or was she forced into it? This whole marriage thing, that is. Shikamaru had told him few months ago about his upcoming wedding and he did say this marriage was some kind of peace treaty between Suna and Konoha. Although Suna and Konoha were alliance, they needed something to make the bond more reliable and solid. And there was no better way to do that than a political marriage.

For Suna, it was either Kankuro or Temari but Temari was chosen because Konoha wanted a live-in bride (1). As a girl, she would take her husband's name and lived in Konoha. And since Temari was a sibling to the ruler of Suna, her status was as that a royal member.

Konoha had to choose a groom that was equal to her in status—a ruler or a ruler's sibling or something similar—for the marriage to work. However, since the ruler of Konoha was a woman and she didn't have any sibling left, they had to consent with 'something similar'. The only other option left that they could choose from was the people of the Court. Meaning, the Councils and everyone that was part of the high level hierarchy.

But the thing is, people of the Court, while they were usually wise and powerful, they were old—a poor choice for a young lady like Temari. Luckily, Shikamaru, being a Strategist for the Council, was the youngest, available man in the Court. Thus he was chosen to be the groom.

"I'm just trying to do the right thing, you know." Shikamaru had explained; he was blushing when he told Sasuke all of the reasons that landed him into marriage.

Sasuke wondered if it was too hot outside that day—Shikamaru's face was kinda red.

Anyway, there, Shikamaru was getting married and he'd never said anything about love. This proved one thing: people do get married even if they don't love each other.

Lucky Shikamaru; Temari said yes even without asking.

Now that he had analyzed it, asking Shikamaru about 'asking' was a moot point.

"You know, the Council won't be happy about this. I won't be surprised if somebody come and tell you to go meet them right now." Shikamaru said out of the blue, interrupting Sasuke's line of thoughts.

_Huh? Oh. The announcement._

"That's none of their business."

"Hey, it _is_ their business. You promise a whole clan, Uchiha. Marrying a guy is not exactly how you go achieving it."

"Says who?"

Shikamaru looked incredulously at Sasuke. He was not so sure how serious Sasuke was going to pursue all these things about marrying Naruto business, but that sounded like he was gonna cheat on Naruto. How else he was gonna builds his clan _and_ stay married to Naruto unless he embraced other women?

"Ceh. It's not my business how you do it, but if you hurt Naruto, it _will_ be my business."

"I won't hurt him, pineapple head. Why don't you worry about your wedding more?"

Shikamaru blushed; unconsciously, he looked up to the sky to hide it.

"Troublesome," he muttered under his breath. Clearing his throat, he said to Sasuke,

"You better be there."

At first, Sasuke had objected to the invitation but Shikamaru was damn persistent. His strongest argument was that, even on his wedding day, he was still Sasuke's supervisor; he still needed to supervise Sasuke and it would be easier if Sasuke was there at the wedding.

What he didn't tell Sasuke was, Ino threatening him bodily harm if he failed to bring Sasuke to the wedding in traditional attire; the main reason he wanted Sasuke to come. Well, Shikamaru obviously wouldn't tell him because Sasuke didn't need to know that.

"You sound like a broken record." After the fifteen times or so, Shikamaru did sound like a broken record. He would emphasize that Sasuke had to go to the wedding every time he was reminded of it (which was a lot of times). Sasuke was kinda annoyed about that and he was tempted to not go just to spite Shikamaru.

909

True to Shikamaru words, he was called to face the Councils the next morning.

Shikamaru drawled his, "I told you so" with a triumphant smirk. Sasuke was irritated by that but he let it slide, focusing instead on what he was gonna say to the old hags.

They arrived at the Councils' chamber relatively harmless. Apart from inquisitive glances—and was that disgust he saw there?—at them, nobody had made any approach to interrupt. Sasuke was daring to bet that the villagers were dying to ask him about the announcement yesterday but nobody was brave enough to come forth.

_Ceh, coward. All of them._

"Uchiha Sasuke." That was the Councils calling him. No honorific used. That could mean trouble; looked like the Councils were disturb enough that they were not even trying to be polite.

"Do you know why you're called here?" One of the Councils asked. Sasuke recognised him as the Head of the Councils. Beside him was Tsunade, looking at Sasuke as if he had just stepped on her tail; she was bristling.

"No."

There were murmurs amongst the councillors. Then, the old man spoke again.

"We called you regarding your public announcement, yesterday. Are you aware of what you said to the public? We are very disappointed with your rather immature action, Uchiha. We are all aware of your rivalry with Uzumaki-san but what you did yesterday was intolerable for a joke. Not to mention, you used public properties without consent and your announcement had caused quite a disturbance amongst the villagers."

Sasuke was truly listening to the long explanations at first, but the word 'joke' caught his immediate attention. The rest of the explanations were just a blur then.

"It's no joke. I intend to marry Uzumaki Naruto."

The court erupted with loud speeches as everybody started to talk all at once. The Head Council waved his hands about to tell everyone to hush down. When the court was once again under control he looked back at Sasuke; his expression serious.

"Need I have to remind you, Uchiha, what your contract is that you've agreed upon your return? This thing can not be taken lightly. And I'm sure as you can guess, we are not agreeing with your intention."

"I don't recall, that in the contract, the Council has the right to choose who I get to marry."

"Yes, but—"

"And I don't think that marrying Uzumaki Naruto make me breach the contract. No need to worry, I'll do my side of the bargain. Besides, I don't need your agreement. As long as I don't break the rules, you don't have anything to hold against me."

Sasuke sounded a bit arrogant when he said that and as a person who was still under probation, he was stupidly brave to be that rude but he was angry. The Council tried to interfere with his plan which they didn't have the right to.

If they thought they could scare him with this, they needed to think again. He knew inside and out about the agreements that he had made with Konoha. Although the Council might claim the he had breached the contract, he knew better; nothing that he had done so far had came even close to breaching—he was being careful about the rules. He was not stupid, he didn't want to be exiled now that he had something that he wanted here.

"Watch to who you're speaking, brat!" Tsunade roared. Sasuke was sure, if Tsunade were a lion, she would have bared her teeth threateningly. Sasuke smirked at the mental image.

"Calm down, Tsunade. You, go wait outside. We need to discuss."

That was a relief. He didn't want to talk for much longer with these people. He gave a slight bow and trotted out with Shikamaru closed behind.

The first thing that came out of Shikamaru's mouth when they were finally out of the court was totally irrelevant. He had expected Shikamaru to tell him off about the 'using public property without consent' thing.

"You better be alive after this, Sasuke cause you do have a wedding to attend."

Sasuke couldn't help it, so he rolled his eyes in annoyance. Shikamaru could be so persistent when he wanted to. He ignored him for the rest of the waiting.

After thirty minutes or so of waiting and doing nothing at the corridor, they were called in. Tsunade was still glaring daggers at him but the rest of the Council looked calmer.

"Very well, Uchiha. Since you say it like that, we've decided to take your words, for now. But anything, anything at all, that we see will interfere with the contract or something remotely close, we'll take the matter in our on hands, without your closure. Do you understand?"

The glint in the old man eyes was positively unfriendly.

"Yes. Can I excuse myself? I have a class to teach."

"Yes, you can leave."

909

_Damn it!_ Sasuke was already late. Damn the Councils for calling him in the morning. He had planned to go to Academy a bit early today so that he could catch Naruto and probably had a little talk with him for a bit. Now, for sure he'd miss him.

When he walked in the day care centre, Iruka-sensei was there and no Naruto in sight. He'd missed him for sure.

"Ohaiyo, Iruka-sensei." It was only polite to greet the person who had willingly substituted for you when you were absent.

Iruka-sensei jerked his head as a reply. He didn't say anything; instead, he was staring at Sasuke intently. His eyes were hard, like he was holding on his temper. Sasuke was sure, if these kids were not around he would already get a lashing.

"I'll see you after this," was all Iruka-sensei had said to him before he left.

_Not another one._ Sasuke almost sighed. He didn't know whether he should be grateful or annoyed that so many people were so overprotective over that idiot. Yesterday, it was Shikamaru. Less than ten minutes ago, it was Tsunade. And now, Iruka-sensei. He wondered who else would intimidate him for Naruto's well being.

Decided that he would ignore that problem for now, he looked around for Ryu. That little boy was doing origami. He looked cute today—like always—in his orange overall, face scrunching lovingly in concentration. He was folding the paper carefully to make paper lantern.

_Ahh…paper lantern__._ He had had fun teaching the kids how to make a paper lantern the other day. To say that the kids were enthusiastic was an understatement. Between cutting papers, folding it, paper cuts and loud cheers, he had a full plate. Nevertheless, it had been fun.

He was glad that he had taught them how to make paper lantern because Bon Odori festival was fast approaching; the kids needed to know how to make paper lantern so that they could sail it down the river.

This reminded him that he had a lot to do for Bon Odori. He needed to buy floating paper lanterns (one for each dead member of Uchiha family), candles, hanging paper lanterns with Uchiha crest on every lanterns, food for offering…to mention a few. He also needed to clean up the whole district (if he could) before the Bon Odori.

In short, there were a lot for him to do and he needed time to do that. Even if he was reluctant, he had to ask for a few days leave from the academy. But that would mean he didn't get to meet Ryu and Naruto until after Bon Odori.

Truthfully, he didn't need to do all that for the Bon Odori but he had neglected the tradition long enough and now that he had returned, he vouched to make it right this time.

Who else was going to respect the Uchiha family's spirits if not for the Uchiha himself?

Yes, him and….Ryu.

Sasuke took a look at said boy. He really wished he could sail the floating lanterns with Ryu. The tradition was for living family members to sail the floating lanterns, with a lit candle in it, down the river. It would be so nice if he could do that with Ryu…and dared he hope with Naruto too—he had a lot of lanterns to sail.

He wondered if Naruto would agree if he asked. But since he wouldn't get to see Naruto until Bon Odori day—he was gonna be busy—perhaps he should ask Ryu instead.

Sasuke carefully made his way to where Ryu was busy taping the papers that made up his lantern. His hands were sticky, the papers kept getting stuck. Sasuke helped unstuck a piece of paper that he sure was accidently taped to Ryu's cheek.

"Thank you, Uchiha-sensei."

Ryu rewarded him with a mega-watt smile before he continued with his mission. Sasuke found that he reciprocated that gesture with his own smile.

"How many lanterns do you make, Ryu?"

"Hmm," the boy seemed to be counting with his sticky fingers before he answered, "four!"

"Hn. Then you need four candles to sail them with."

"No. Ryu not going to sail them. Ryu will give all of them to Asuma. Dada said, we don't need them. We don't have any re-re-tif."

"Relatives."

"Unh! That what's Dada said."

Sasuke was quiet for awhile. He never thought of that. Now that he thought about it, Naruto truly didn't have any dead relative. Hell, he didn't have any relative. Period.

"Then, do you want to help sensei sail my lanterns? I have a lot of lanterns to sail."

"Really? I can? Yeah!!" Ryu looked at Sasuke with a bright pair of eyes. He had never done that before because his Dada said that was for people with dead relatives. He never got to join. Truthfully, Ryu really wanted to join cause it looked like fun and there would be candles too; he could light them with his new jutsu.

And now, he could go because Uchiha-sensei asked him too. Yeahh!! Ryu wouldn't miss it for the world.

909

Sasuke was seriously considering hiring a few local boys to help him carry his floating paper lanterns; he had too many of them to carry by himself. Besides, he recognized some of the boys—they were Iruka-sensei's students. He saw them enough at the Academy to remember one or two faces.

His plan was halted, however, when he sensed a familiar chakra within his compound. Fine-tuning his senses to the source of the chakra, he found the chakra's owner crouching in front of his front door, pouting.

"Ryu?" The boy looked kind of pissed at something.

Once he heard his name, Ryu grinned, and his mood lightened. "Sensei!" Immediately, he jumped from his crouched position and hugged Sasuke.

Sasuke was almost sure that Ryu was inhaling his scent when he hugged him. _What's with this boy and sniffing?_

"Smells like Ryu." Well, there went the "almost."

The boy grinned at him, and his heart, as always, beat faster at that grin; he looked too much like Naruto with that grin in place. At that moment, Sasuke knew he was doomed when he realized there were two people who could disturb his serenity with just a grin. But strangely, he didn't really mind, much.

Sasuke ruffled Ryu's hair, but Ryu smacked his hand away. The boy babbled away that his Dada had brushed it for him, and he didn't want his Dada to be annoyed at him for messing it up.

Sasuke messed it up some more. Ryu pouted.

Sasuke hid a smile. He reached for Ryu's arm and began to lead him to the inner part of the Uchiha mansion. Ryu gave him a loud "Humph," but followed him nonetheless. The boy started chatting excitedly after a total silence of 30 seconds.

Used to nonstop, one-sided conversation, Sasuke nodded and said "Hn" at the right places, even though he really wanted to ask "Are you alone?" The only reason he didn't was because it was just a rhetorical question: He already knew that Ryu came alone. Naruto was nowhere near here; if he were, Sasuke would have detected his chakra.

In any case, this was a bit strange. Judging by Naruto's overprotective streak concerning Ryu, you'd think he'd never let Ryu roam around alone, especially during the Bon Festival, when people were constantly reminded of their dead loved ones.

That could only mean that Naruto didn't know Ryu was here.

When they both reached the paper lanterns, Sasuke asked the question:

"Ryu, did you come by yourself? Does your Dada know that you're here?" Sasuke was a bit concerned. From the look of things, he'd say Naruto didn't even know where Ryu was right now.

Ryu harrumphed some more and crossed his arms over his chest. "Hn," he said as a way of starting his explanation, "Asuma gets to help his mum and—and Dada, he—he..." Ryu hesitated. He looked a bit guilty and sad. But suddenly, they were replaced with anger.

"Dada is a meanie. Dada doesn't want to come and—and he doesn't want Ryu to come, either. Not fair!" Ryu was almost shouting at this point.

Sasuke blinked. Whoa, that was…something else. He never saw Ryu get angry—especially at his beloved Dada. This was the first time. He'd better file this for future reference: The kid was sensitive when it came to freedom issues.

"So, he doesn't know?"

"Hn." Ryu was looking at everything but him, his voice small. The boy seemed to know that he did something wrong but did it nevertheless, all because he felt the need to rebel against his Dada's unfairness. Sasuke wished he'd had that kind of spirit when he was younger. Maybe life would be different.

He was torn between the need to correct Ryu's behaviour and being astonished by it. Sasuke knew he should at least tell his son not to do it again, but his son's pitiful expression stopped him. He wanted Ryu to enjoy their time together this evening. The warning could come later. Instead, he ruffled Ryu's hair and pointed to the paper lanterns.

"We need to light a candle in each of these." Sasuke looked at Ryu knowingly with the briefest of smile upon his face.

"Uh-huh. We can use a—a lighter or—or matches or—or…"

"Or?" Sasuke lit small fire at the tip of his finger as a clue.

Ryu's eyes became impossibly big. "Or a fire jutsu! That'd be so cool!"

"Hn." Sasuke's heart became impossibly warm, all thanks to Ryu's happy grin.

909

Naruto had just finished talking to Sakura when he noticed that Ryu was gone. He took a big breath to regain his calm. He had known Ryu was up to something today; he had been jittery all morning. Naruto would bet his left arm that it had something to do with the Bon Festival. The boy had been begging him to go for several days now.

Kami-sama, it was frustrating, to say the least. At some point he'd just wanted to say "yes," just so he didn't have to hear the sad whine in his son's voice. Still, the idea of Ryu in a big crowd worried him, especially on a day like the Bon Festival, when people were strongly reminded of dead family members.

Usually, Ryu couldn't escape him like this, no matter how stealthy he was, but Sakura's visit had distracted him. She had come to his house with a very gloomy look on her face, as if someone in her family had just died—Naruto hoped that wasn't the case, though. He really didn't expect her to come after being ignored by her for days.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Sakura's voice was too calm; it was almost eerie. It caught Naruto off-guard; there was no greeting, no hello, no anything.

"About what?" Naruto was completely ignorant and a bit alarmed, too.

"Don't play the fool with me, you idiot! Am I not being a fool enough for you two?! And all this while… all this while… I-I…" Sakura had started to tear up.

"Sakura-chan, I don't—"

"Was it funny? Huh? Huh? Tell me, Naruto. Was it funny watching me chase after Sasuke-kun like that when you two have obviously hooked up?" Sakura covered her face with her hands, crying. "I must have looked really stupid." Her words were muffled by her hands and distorted by her tears.

"No, you've got it wrong. Me and that bas—"

"Why didn't you tell me? I-I thought we were friends! Did you think I wouldn't understand? I've always had this—this feeling that you—you two were… you know… but since neither one of you ever said anything, I thought I was just over-thinking it. There's no way Sasuke-kun is gay, right? That's impossible. He—he, like, has to build a clan or something, right?" She laughed, still crying.

"But—but he has always, always paid attention to you more, fought with you more… talked with you more. Like—like how he's always trying to find excuses just to—to interact with you." She stopped rambling. The silence was eerie, because now she was only looking at Naruto with these intense eyes.

"And you know what's funny? I _wasn't_ over-thinking things; they were actually true." She started laughing again, still sobbing.

Worried about her state of mind, Naruto shook her hard to stop her mad ramblings. She was obviously broken-hearted and felt betrayed; her love had clearly announced that he wanted to marry her best friend, and that said best friend had never told her anything about it.

_Is she gonna lose it?_

"Listen to me, Sakura-chan. Me and that bas… Sasuke never, ever hooked up. Never, you hear me? The marriage thing? It's all his idea. I've nothing to do with it. I swear."

Sakura was quiet for a long time. Only her sobbing was audible in the small room… and that made Naruto nervous. A shout, an angry tongue-lashing, heck, even a punch in the ribs was better than the stifling silence.

When he thought he couldn't take the silence any longer, suddenly Sakura looked up and stared at him, hard, as if she were looking for something. Maybe she found what she was looking for, because after that, she finally spoke.

"I won't be mad, you know." Sakura tried hard to form a smile. "I'm just kinda sad that you kept it from me, and—and I feel stupid for not realizing it sooner and fooling myself that Sasuke would love me eventually." A sad smile formed on her lips. "He obviously can't love me." _He loves you._

"Sakura-chan, I don't know what you mean by that, but listen carefully: Me and Sasuke? We have nothing between us, okay? He might be my rival, but he's nothing more."

Sakura patted Naruto's hand. The sadness on her face eased up a bit. She even chuckled when she said her next sentence.

"Rivalry. It always starts there, doesn't it?"

"What start where?" Sakura was talking in riddles here, and with Naruto's puzzle-solving ability, his mind could only conjure up a "huh?"

Sakura poked his chest over his heart. "Love," she said. "Affection. Devotion." She tilted her head, a mischievous grin playing on her lips. "Lust."

Her words struck him hard. They _were _a bunch of heavy words, after all. But once the words really sunk in, he laughed until his belly hurt. Seriously, it was so impossible that it became funny enough to hurt. What made her think the bastard had the slightest inkling of affection toward him? Was it because of the marriage proposal? If only she knew the bastard asked only because of Ryu.

But he couldn't tell her that, could he? That would mean he'd have to expose his secret.

"Wow, that was funny, Sakura-chan. I—"

"Is it really that funny, Naruto?" Sakura narrowed her eyes, not really happy with Naruto's reaction. Here she was, pouring her heart out, trying to be understanding, and generally giving her blessings to their relationship, and what did that get her? She was laughed at—by the moron of the pair, no less.

_Trying to be understanding—_"trying" being the key word. She was no saint—oh, hell no. She was still heartbroken, angry, sad, and devastated that her first love was snatched away when she thought she was finally going to get it. If she were still her younger self, she might've beaten Naruto to a bloody pulp by now, or she would've killed him the moment she heard the PSA (3).

Naruto didn't understand how lucky he was that she was not her younger self. Otherwise, she might've lost a "little brother." She was a mature woman now—a _smart_ woman, too. She understood that however much pain she inflicted on Naruto, it was not going to change Sasuke's decision.

And, being a smart woman, she knew there were two ways to handle this: either she could break all her ties with Naruto and keep chasing after Sasuke, or she could accept what's fact and still have a best friend. The choice was obvious, even if it was difficult to accept. But hey, a girl can't always have what she wants, right? Besides, even if she kept chasing after him, there's no telling when Sasuke would look her way. A girl can't stay young forever, you know.

Still, it took her days to be sure of her choice. It took her a lot of rational thinking and intelligence—and not her emotions—to stick with her decision. The outburst in Naruto's living room? That was just a side effect of her repressed emotions. She didn't mean to cry like that, honest!

"Well, yeah… The bastard hates me-tebba! There's no way! And—and he's a guy!" _Damn you, bastard. Now everybody else is convinced I'm gay!_

"You can laugh, Naruto, but I've seen how he looks at you."

That made Naruto shut up. Inner Sakura made a whooping sound.

"What?" Naruto looked skeptical, and Sakura let out an exaggerated sigh.

"Of course, you don't know, do you?" She sighed again and mumbled under her breath, "Men, they can be so dense sometimes."

However, she couldn't blame Naruto for being dense this time, because she too had almost missed it herself. Her fan-girl instincts and her woman's intuition had been telling her there was something going on between the two, especially after Sasuke's return, for ages. Okay, so maybe she couldn't pick up much from Naruto because he was so busy being angry, but there was definitely something coming from Sasuke—but she'd brushed it off as their rivalry.

She should have known better.

Her jealousy toward Naruto should have been a clear sign that there was something more going on than just a rivalry. It was subtle, but it was there, nonetheless. It was so subtle that she was sure those two dense idiots didn't even realize it.

_No, _her mind disagreed._ Sasuke-kun might have realized it, but he might not have known what it was. Is that why he wants to get married? Even for Sasuke-kun, marriage is kinda over-the-top._ Sakura let out another frustrated sigh. _Sometimes I don't understand what he's thinking at all._

Sakura looked at Naruto. _Still, Naruto and Sasuke, eh? ... That's kinda hot._

… And that was Sakura's fangirl speaking. She might be broken-hearted, but two guys together? _Damn_. That's just hot, and it just might be the cure for her broken heart.

909

Sakura said good-bye to him with a scary glint in her eyes and a peck on his cheek.

It was official: Naruto would never, ever understand women, girls… whatever. One moment, they are bawling theirs eyes out, all sad, and the next they are calm, talkative, and all-knowing. Not to mention they could suddenly become excited and all-grins.

God knows what's on their minds. Not that he wanted to know, thankyouverymuch. He himself had a lot on his mind: Sakura's ridiculous speculations, Ryu, Sasuke's demise, what's for dinner, Ryu…

_Ryu. Where is that boy?_

"Ryu! Ryu! We can go now!"

Naruto scanned for Ryu's chakra… Uh-oh, not in the house. The boy must have slipped somewhere when he was in the living room with Sakura. This time, though, Naruto was not nearly as panicky, because he had an idea or two where the boy might have gone. His hyperactive son had been begging him to join the Bon festival for days; he had to be either at the riverside or Asuma's house.

Shaking his head in resignation, Naruto left the house to track after his son. He might as well go to Kurenai-sensei's house first before he headed to the river. They might still be in the house. If Ryu was there, maybe he would bring him to the festival as a way of making up to the boy. Because, well… he was a little too close-minded about this festival thing. He should let the little guy explore a little—his son was a curious little thing.

But Ryu wasn't there. In fact, the whole house was empty.

_They must be by the river by now._

After all, it was already dusk; they _should_ be by the river to sail off lanterns. Hell, half the villagers were probably at the river. It would be quite a chore to find his son; it was dark and crowded.

909

Near the river, he surprisingly found Kurenai-sensei easily. It must be the red hair—the candles around her were illuminating her hair like a torch.

Asuma saw him first and waved frantically at Naruto to invite him over. He didn't see a familiar dark-haired boy anywhere, though, and was about to ask about Ryu, but Asuma beat him to it.

"Where's Ryu? Is he with you? Is he allowed to come? Can we go play together? Can we? Can we, Naru-Da?"

Okay, now Naruto was nervous—there were a lot of questions there to answer; answers he didn't know. That, and Ryu was still yet to be found. Kurenai-sensei seemed to sense his discomfort and asked Asuma to continue lighting the candles. Asuma looked like he wanted to refuse. He threw a questioning look at his Naru-Da, but lights, candles, and everything glittery and bright never failed to catch his attention. Distracted, he resumed lighting the candles.

"Lost him again?" Kurenai-sensei threw him a knowing look. "That boy can't stay still for long, can he? Reminds me of this prankster I once knew." Kurenai-sensei poked him in the rib, a teasing smile on her lips.

"Ah ha ha… err… Have you seen him?" Naruto tried not to fidget nervously so much.

"Seen him? Nope. Heard him? Yes. His loud 'yeahs' are impossible to miss."

Kurenai-sensei pointed a finger to her right. Naruto said a quick thank-you and left. He walked amongst the throngs of people busily preparing their lanterns. The farther he went, the fewer people there were, but there were still no signs of Ryu.

Naruto quickened his pace, all the while listening intently for voices that could help him pinpoint Ryu's location. Since there were fewer people here, the voices were easy to distinguish, though that also meant that there was less light.

At last, he heard something that sounded a lot like his Ryu. From where he stood, he saw an outline of a small figure that had his son's height and build. Sure enough, when he squinted a little harder, he could see that _was _his son—his excited voice gave him away.

Naruto started to walk toward Ryu—and then he saw him. Even with the dim light, the hair was hard to miss. _The rooster-head._

His first reaction was to storm in, kick Sasuke once, and haul Ryu back home. That thought was beginning to sound very enticing as the seconds ticked by. But then, Ryu held out a lit lantern to Sasuke, probably to show Sasuke what he had done. The light from the lantern helped Naruto see his son's face; he was beaming with excitement and pride. Ryu's smile was the happy one.

Strangely, Sasuke's was, too.

Naruto's heart made a strange skip. Sasuke? Smile? That was… strange. Although he had been the constant victim of Sasuke's Grin, he had yet to see that kind of smile from Sasuke before. A happy smile. Sasuke was happy. That was… that was…

_He really was happy, huh?_ Playing with Ryu, spending time with Ryu. If everybody knew where to look, they'd know that he was happy.

_Oh, look. They have matching finger-lighters. They really look like…father and son._

Naruto's heart did that skip thing again.

Looking at them like this, he wondered for the nth time whether Ryu knew that Sasuke was his other father. That boy had a strange attachment when Sasuke was concerned—as if he knew. As if he could sense it or something.

Naruto's obvious distaste of Sasuke more or less made Sasuke-based conversations nonexistent. He had never discussed Sasuke with Ryu. More than once, he thought maybe—maybe—he should tell Ryu about Sasuke, because sometimes he felt guilty. Angry as he might be with Sasuke, he was still Ryu's father, and Ryu deserved to know. He deserved to have two parents.

And, judging from their interaction, Sasuke would be an excellent parent. _Maybe better than me._

Wallowing in his self-pity, Naruto started to turn. He just wanted to go home—to leave Ryu in Sasuke's loving care—and be miserable. Tomorrow. Tomorrow he promised to be his usual cheerful self, but tonight he'd let himself enjoy his pity-party alone.

"Naruto."

_Crap. He saw me._

"Dada!" Ryu was running toward him at full speed, and within minute, he had a handful of little Uzumaki in his arms.

"I'm sorry! I-I wanted to—to come so—so much, and—and Dada—Dada says… and—and I-I really, really, really wanted to come, and—and… But—but Uchiha-sensei said Dada'd be worried and—and I should tell Dada… and—and Uchiha-sensei made me promise not to make you worry again, and—and…"

Ryu tightened his hold around his Dada's waist, running out of words to explain himself. He knew he was wrong, and he just wanted to say he was sorry. Taking a chance, he lifted up his face and looked directly at his Dada. "I'm sorry."

Naruto ruffled Ryu's hair. He was supposed to be stern, but hell, how he was supposed to do that? His son had perfected the I'm-guilty-but-please-don't-be-mad-at-me look to the T.

"I'll let you go this time, but that means more stealth practice for a month."

Ryu groaned. He hated stealth practice.

"Okay. Do we have to go back now?" There was that look again. Damn him if he didn't fall for it. Naruto let out a surrendered sigh, and Ryu whooped happily and proceeded to drag Naruto to where Sasuke stood.

Once they were there, Ryu started to explain what they were doing in great detail, pointing at the lanterns with fan symbols once in a while.

"This is for Fugaku-oji-san, this is for Makoto-oba-san… And—and this is for Shi…"

_These are for the Uchiha family._

Naruto suddenly wondered if Ryu being here had something to do with it. _Did that bastard plan for Ryu to be here?_ _No wonder he's happy._

Naruto decided he would let this slide this time. Ryu was looking very happy, and that made his heart content. As long as…

"Na—

"Don't talk to me."

Yeah, as long as the bastard kept silent, Naruto would make peace. He pushed the guilt aside; he was still mad at that bastard.

Obviously, silence worked, because they all enjoyed the night. Naruto never thought Ryu could look so happy before. He also never thought Sasuke could be less "bastard-y" than his normal bastard-self.

909

Kiba had just finished his training with Shino. He asked the bug boy to join him at Ichiraku's, but Ino found them before he had the chance to say yes and dragged him away. She said something about help, flowers, and wedding, and then they were gone.

_Oh yeah. Shika's wedding. Tomorrow._ Kiba wondered why Ino needed Shino's help. Well, whatever. He was starving, and he could almost hear Ichiraku's calling his name. He had become addicted to Ichiraku's almost as bad as Naruto. Almost.

And thank God it was lunch hour, meaning that Naruto wouldn't be there—he was at work in the neighboring village. Since the PSA, he became jittery whenever he was with Naruto. It was not like he was, er… disgusted or anything to suddenly find out that Naruto was gay. He just… well… he didn't know how to react. He never had a gay friend before (no kidding!). Heck, he didn't even know a gay person before.

Naruto was a nice friend. He didn't want to lose the friendship just because Naruto suddenly decided marrying a guy was cool. And what a guy that was—a bastard to the core.

Honestly, Kiba didn't much care about whom Naruto wanted to... ah… get comfy with. In fact, he was a bit relieved that Naruto was getting married, 'cause that meant Hinata would finally stop pining after him. This could be the final step to convincing Hinata that they did belong together.

Yeah, he was a bit glad.

It was just… okay, he actually didn't know the proper things to say. Before he could say anything he wanted to say to Naruto, and now he was a bit self-conscious. He had a big mouth, and he knew it. What if he opened his mouth and immediately had to insert his foot? _That_ made him jittery.

Should he ask him about his wedding plan? About offering a helping hand? Should he offer to babysit Ryu for their honeymoon?

Oh God, the mental image alone made him dizzy. If he could put the mental image aside, he would be okay with this. He was okay with this, really, but with TMI, he would barf.

A thump on his back brought him back to the present.

Uh-oh. Naruto. The exact person he absolutely didn't want to appear before him right now.

"Why aren't you at work?" A question was a perfect cover to regain his cool and maybe even escape.

"What? Aren't you glad to see me? Gaara's here today. Baa-chan wanted me to babysit… Babysit my ass. Raccoon-eyes just wanted to spar." Naruto snorted and shouted his order to the old man. _And grill me about the wedding thing. Nosy bastard._

"And where is he now? So much for babysitting. You ditched him, didn't you?"

"What? No! He and Baa-chan need to… ahh… com-me-me-ra… agh… I don't know. They need to do something, and I'm free to go. Heee…"

Kiba looked at him. He was the same Naruto. He was the same stupid, loud, and brash Naruto that he had befriended years ago. Maybe he was thinking too much. Gay or not, he was the same Naruto.

His friend. It wasn't fair to judge him just because now he knew some extra information about his friend.

And who was he to judge? He, who had a dog as his life companion?

"What, something on my face?"

Naruto noticed. Since the PSA, Kiba had been jittery around him, but he'd ignored it because Kiba didn't say anything. You didn't need to be a rocket scientist to know it had something to do about the announcement.

People made assumptions. Now he was the gay of the village. No, more like one of the two gay guys of the village. And the two gay guys were gay for each other. The question now was just how many gays were there in the last three sentences?

Just kidding.

But seriously, he had wanted to explain to Kiba that no, he was not getting married, and no, he was not gay. But Kiba didn't utter a word, so he didn't, either. Don't talk, don't tell, eh? Kiba's reaction was mild compared to others. Tsunade went ballistic, cursing Sasuke up and down. You'd think she learned new words just to curse Sasuke. Iruka-sensei asked questions first and then went ballistic, though he was not as creative as Tsunade.

Some villagers sneered at him, but then again, what was new? As long as they didn't touch his son, he didn't give a f**k. Other people either didn't care or didn't show their real reactions. That was totally fine by him.

Kiba's sudden answer made Naruto turn to look at him.

"Nope. Nothing." Feeling a bit lighter since the PSA, Kiba grinned mischievously.

"'You think Gaara'd want to join Shika's bachelor party tonight if we invited him?"

Naruto's grin soon grew to match Kiba's. "I'll make him go. Yes or no—either way, it's not gonna make a difference."

909

Inviting Gaara was the worst mistake they ever made.

Let's just say that they were not allowed in the same bar stall ever again: Neji got sand in his hair, and Kiba got the first taste of his sand sushi. The only silver linings of the night were the facts that Shika was not going to have a killer headache tomorrow and that everybody went home without a hitch.

They all learned their lesson: Don't let Gaara drink.

909

"Wow, who are you?" Ino was gaping slightly. The man standing before her eyes was something you could only find on a magazine cover.

"Er… He looks like Sasuke… He acts like Sasuke, too. I think he's Sasuke."

Ino glared at Chouji. She elbowed his stomach lightly in disapproval.

"Hey! I—"

Ino ignored him and proceeded to greet Sasuke; he _was_ Sasuke, alright, only that he was in a traditional garment, which only made his already handsome features looked… ethereal. If he claimed that he was some kind of god visiting the earth, people might believe him. Ino certainly would.

"You look…" _Ravishing, sexy, good enough to eat…_ "different, Sasuke-kun." Ino was salivating. She dabbed her mouth with a handkerchief to prevent someone from noticing.

Sasuke looked blankly at her. _Different how?_ Everybody at the Shinto Shrine wore kimonos, him included. He didn't see any real difference between what he and most of the guests wore. Sure, his kimono was adorned with his family crest on the back and sleeves, but the same could be said for every other man here.

The only "difference" that he could honestly pinpoint was, well, the groom. He almost didn't recognize him at first. Shika's hair was down and brushed, not a single stray left unattended. Talk about a make-over. The black kimono and haori he wore did make him look presentable. Some might even claim that he looked handsome.

Good for him.

But Sasuke would bet Shika didn't even realize how he looked, because he was busy staring at his soon-to-be bride, Temari. Temari was looking very beautiful in her white kimono as she carefully placed her feet one after the other to reach the altar. Between balancing the heavy decoration on her head and walking stiffly in the wooden shoes, she had done a great job not tripping.

As soon as the bride and the groom reached the altar, the Shinto Priest started chanting and asked the family members to stand nearby.

The ceremony ran smoothly. Both Shikamaru and Temari were declared husband and wife after they drank their ninth sake cups. Everybody was stunned speechless when Shikamaru grinned with his teeth showing; now they all knew how Shikamaru looked when he was truly happy.

And, for all that time, he had not caught a glimpse of Naruto or Ryu. There was Iruka-sensei, who had given him the evil eye the moment he'd arrived at the shrine, Ino, Chouji, and other important members of the Council, but no Naruto. _Maybe the ceremony was for family members only?_ _There's still the reception to go to._

909

The reception was held in the Nara family compound. For the reception, the bride had changed into a beautiful, elaborately embroidered kimono. The groom changed, too, but his kimono was not much different from the ceremony's. Shikamaru still looked dashing, though—at least, the bride thought so.

They were first introduced to the 200 or so guests before the feast began.

As not to look strange, Sasuke piled up his plate, too, and intended to settle under one of the large trees slightly remote from the banquet. Taking his first bite, Sasuke didn't stop scanning the crowd for a familiar blond head or cute, pony-tailed head.

"What, looking for your fiancé?"

Sakura was smiling at him from her standing position beside him. She had a plate of food herself. He must have been too absorbed in scanning the crowd to notice she was approaching. Where did she come from anyway? Behind him?

_Wait…What did she say?_

"Mind if I sit here?"

"Hn."

"He's here somewhere. Last time I saw him, he was busy babysitting two people: his son and the Kazekage. Ryu keeps stuffing food non-stop into his mouth, and the Kage won't stop drinking."

Sasuke let out a small smile. He could imagine that happening—his son liked to eat. He only wished that it was Ryu and him that Naruto had to babysit.

Something green and ugly suddenly stirred somewhere in his heart. The smile vanished instantly, replaced by a frown.

"It's true, huh. Ahhh… Now I can totally give up."

_What's she talking about. Is she drunk?_

"You really do love him; I'm surprised. When did you figure out that you're gay?"

_I do? _"I'm not gay."

Sakura gave him a look that clearly stated "yeah, sure" but said nothing to contradict him.

"So, when is the wedding? I can be your wedding planner."

The maniac glint in Sakura's eyes made Sasuke wish that he was far away from here.

909

"Ryu, no. Kids can't drink this."

"I'm not a kid. I'm four years old!"

"Okay. But four-year-olds can't drink this."

"But—but Uncle Gaara can drink this. He's four, too."

"Huh?"

Naruto turned to Gaara. He hissed, "Why the hell does my son think you're four years old?"

"I _am_ four years old. Only times five," he sniggered. Making life hard for Naruto was his favorite pastime nowadays, especially when the Hokage assigned him as his "babysitter," as Naruto eloquently put it.

"Gaara…" Naruto glared. Gaara rolled his eyes.

"Hey, Ryu. Let's drink something else, okay? And then I'll show you the lizard sand again."

"Really? Okay, that's so cool, Uncle Gaara. I really—"

Gaara was already steering Ryu in another direction. Naruto slowly followed. He sighed. He supposed it was good that Ryu liked Gaara and—not surprisingly—Gaara liked him, too. Well, Gaara liked kids, so it was no surprise; he just didn't have the opportunity to show it.

The problem was, Gaara liked to feed Ryu inappropriate information—Gaara had a very dark kind of humor.

At first, Naruto thought Ryu would be scared of Gaara. He was not exactly a friendly person, and although Gaara didn't have a demon in him anymore, Ryu would probably "smell" the residue. Apparently, he was wrong. They kind of clicked; Ryu didn't detect any malice from Gaara—it showed how Gaara had changed over the years. Being a Kazekage had done well for him.

If only he could make normal jokes like regular people did.

Lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice they had stopped walking. Gaara had led them to an open clearing quite far away from the banquet table. Coincidentally, the spot Gaara chose was near the big tree where Sakura and Sasuke were sitting.

From where he stood, Naruto could see Sakura looked happy, smiling and laughing. Sasuke? Naruto didn't know for sure, but he looked like he was trying hard to swallow something. Was he choking? _Good. Go choke and die, bastard._

Naruto was still looking at Sasuke when the brunette turned to look at him. Naruto quickly evaded his eyes and refocused his attention on Ryu. Ryu was distracted with Gaara's lizard; he didn't even notice that his favorite teacher was nearby. And Naruto would make sure it stayed that way.

909

Sasuke was not literally choking, but he felt like that nonetheless all thanks to listening to Sakura's incessant chatter. He knew he could just ignore her and walk away, but she was the lesser evil in this case. The hordes of girls that had been giving him the "eye" couldn't be better company than Sakura.

And, for some reason, nobody dared to approach him when Sakura was nearby. That was certainly a positive.

He was busy tuning out Sakura—as usual—when suddenly, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. Somebody was staring at him.

_Naruto._

At last, he saw him. Ah… He looked adorable in that brown kimono.

_Adorable? _

Very attractive.

_Attractive? _

His son looked cute in his red, little kimono, too. He wondered who helped them put the garments on.

He could watch them all day.

But what was that creep doing here, being so familiar with his son? Why was Naruto letting him do that?

The green and ugly feeling came back. Completely ignoring Sakura, he stood up, ready to interfere with the trio. Naruto might get angry at him again, but damn him if he let anybody get familiar with his son if he couldn't.

That was when it began.

People were screaming. Bodies fell on the ground like sacks of potatoes.

They were being ambushed.

Shinobi stationed around the compound fought to their best abilities, but there were so many people to protect: the Council members, the Hokage, the Kazekage, the delegates, and the villagers. No matter how you looked at it, they needed extra help.

Sasuke looked around to assess his surrounding. Whoever ambushed them hadn't come this far yet. Turning to look at his… err… hmm… He looked at Naruto and Ryu to make sure they were still okay.

Naruto was assuming a defensive stance. Sasuke was grateful to see that, because at least he was not charging forward to fight the enemies—he was glad to see Naruto felt that protecting his charges was better than rushing ahead to fight.

With that, Sasuke entered the fight. From habit, he reached down to unsheathe his katana only to find it was not there—it was at home. Empty-handed, he would have to make do with what he had in his surrounding. Quickly grabbing a handful of forks and chopsticks from the banquet table, Sasuke used them as his weapons.

From a distance, he heard Tsunade shouting at her bodyguards to protect the Elders. She herself seemed busy fighting a man who, from Sasuke's deduction, was the leader of the intruders. When Sasuke recognized the man, he was surprised—although "surprise" was a bit of an understatement. The leader was none other than Kabuto.

_So, he's not dead._

Sasuke felt a pang of regret for not killing him along with Orochimaru. Because of that, now he'd come and ruined a perfect wedding. _That man needs to die._

As if Kabuto heard him, he turned to where Sasuke was and gave him a creepy smile. Sasuke ignored him. Instead, he burned the opponent in front of him to a crisp. That enemy defeated, he moved to another, happy to burn another stupid moron to a crisp.

"Shit!" That was Naruto. In front of him was the prone body of Gaara, lying stiffly on the ground. Kabuto, who was standing beside him, was wearing a smug smirk.

"No matter how strong you are, it's no use if you can't move, eh, Naruto-kun?" the piece-of-shit said.

_What?_ Sasuke threw a glance at Naruto, who was also sitting on the ground now. He was gripping one of his legs, trying to make it move.

_Shit, Kabuto immobilized his leg._

Sasuke was trying hard to focus on his own fight, but he kept glancing at Naruto. One moment he saw Kabuto standing in front of Naruto, and then he was beside him, his fingers dangerously close to Naruto's other leg.

"Honestly, Naruto-kun. I don't want to kill you. We were once friends, remember? Why don't you sit here like a good little boy and let me finish what I came here for?"

"Like hell I'll just sit here and let you hurt Gaara!"

"You've made your choice, Naruto-kun. I really don't want to do this." But his creepy smile said otherwise. However, before Kabuto could do any damage to Naruto, his shirt was lit on fire. He jumped away from Naruto and tried desperately to put out the flames.

"What the f**k?!" He looked around to search for the culprit and spotted Ryu crouching not far away. Ryu's fearful, wide eyes stared back at him. That boy had set his shirt on fire!

"Little shit, you're gonna die first!"

909

In all his life, there was no moment more terrifying than this one.

They were fighting—at least, Gaara was fighting. Naruto was fighting, too, but he was also busy keeping an eye on his son. But suddenly, Kabuto had come and used his medical jutsu on Gaara to immobilize him. Why Gaara failed to dodge that, he didn't know.

The only good thing that came from that was he didn't directly kill him.

Now, one of his legs was useless; it was from the same medical jutsu Kabuto used on Gaara. He was lucky it was just his leg that was immobilized. But now, Kabuto was kneeling next to him. His other leg was about to fall to the same state when Ryu stopped Kabuto with his little fire jutsu… which was definitely bad, because now Kabuto was aware of Ryu's presence. And Kabuto was so angry that he was going to kill his son.

"Noooooo!"

Naruto knew that he could call his clones, or Gamakichi, or, hell, Gamabunta, but he had to get close his son first, to save him first—Ryu was so scared. There was no time to pull a proper jutsu—Kabuto was just too close

He leaped the small distance that separated them and hugged his son. _That was stupid_, his rational part reminded him. _You'll get killed._ Yeah, he would probably die, but his son would be safe, and that was what mattered the most. Like he would survive if he lost his son. It was an "if and only if" situation.

Naruto waited for the sharp katana to pierce through his flesh… But he didn't feel any pain even as he felt the blood dripping on the arms that…..

Wait… arms that were holding him?

_Shit. Sasuke._

He only had a few seconds for it to sink in before Sasuke stood and spat angrily at Kabuto, "You. Die."

Sasuke's eyes morphed into a creepy shape, red and triangular—nothing like his usual Sharingan. His hand showed the telltale sign of Chidori, but instead of forming a blue chakra ball upon his palm, the blue chakra formed a circle around his head, like a halo—only bigger and blue.

He pointed his finger at Kabuto, and in seconds, the Blue Halo was circling Kabuto's head. Kabuto began running around at top speed to shake off the strange jutsu, but it followed his head no matter how fast he moved.

With a sneer, Sasuke snarled, "Fire Element: Fire Splinters Jutsu."

The blue chakra formed tiny little triangle, much like splinters, and circled Kabuto's torso before tightening around him like a rope. Kabuto let out a horrible, horrible cry—the kind only the violently tortured could produce. People could smell burning flesh, which was similar to the smell of a steak on grill.

Kabuto collapsed.

And so did Sasuke.

909

It almost felt like a déjà vu, when he thought of it. History had repeated itself. Almost a decade ago, Iruka-sensei had protected him, and now, Sasuke had done almost the same thing.

And, according to medical nin Sakura, he might not survive the injury. The wound on his back was definitely severe enough. Then he pulled a stunt like that—using a very powerful jutsu—which made it a lot worse. He would have had a better chance if he'd just collapsed after the attack.

_Stupid moron, why did you have to do that? I didn't ask for you to save me._

Ryu's loud wailing brought him out of his thoughts. The boy was frantic, apologizing nonstop. He was sorry he didn't hide quietly like his Dada told him to. He was sorry he was the reason Uchiha-sensei was going to die. He was so, so sorry, and could he see Uchiha-sensei one last time? He just wanted to say he was sorry.

"It wasn't your fault, okay, sweetie?" _It was mine._

"Sa… Uchiha-sensei is gonna be okay. He's not going to die. He's a very strong ninja." _Oh my God, he's gonna die. _"We'll visit him when the doctors say we can, okay?" _Please don't let him die._

Ryu wouldn't listen. He wanted to see his Uchiha-sensei—he wanted to say he loved him, wanted to say that he would sail a lantern for him, too, if he died, so he didn't need to be worried.

That was heartbreaking, and Naruto couldn't handle it anymore. He hugged and rocked Ryu in his arms, letting the boy wail all he wanted and finally crying himself to sleep.

He brought Ryu home, wondering what he was going to say when Ryu woke up.

909

He was at a wedding. Ahh… He remembered. It was Shika and Temari's wedding. And he remembered that he saw the most adorable things he had ever seen in his life there, too: Naruto and his Ryu. His family.

They were smiling at him and waving their hands at him, beckoning him to come closer.

Suddenly, there was Kabuto, waving a bloody katana in hand. No, not Kabuto—the figure shifted. It was his brother—his f**king dead brother! He wanted to kill his family again.

"No!" He heard himself shout. "I will _never_ let you do that again!"

Itachi sneered again. "You cannot do anything, foolish little brother. They are going to die."

Sasuke tried to lunge at him, but hands were holding his arms and legs, and he couldn't move. He heard someone shouting.

"Hold him!! Hold him!!"

Something pricked his arm, and then everything was a blur.

909

"He's already on heavy medication. We can't keep giving him more drugs," Sakura said to the worried Hinata.

"What did Hokage-sama say?"

Sakura dragged a hand over her face. "She said he'll survive tonight, but at this rate, he will probably either die from reopening his wounds or a drug overdose."

Hinata had nothing to say to that. They had to find a way to overcome this, but they both were tired and probably wouldn't come out with anything even if they discussed it now. Besides, Sasuke was subdued; he wouldn't wake up in the next six hours or so.

"We should assign someone to monitor him."

Sakura nodded, although she knew that they didn't have anyone to spare. There were so many patients, so many injured people to tend to, and the way the Council members kept demanding attention from Tsunade-sama had left her alone to perform the high-level surgeries. There were doctors, yes, but none as good as her and Tsunade-sama.

"How's Gaara?" she asked Hinata to avoid depressing thoughts.

Hinata smiled a little; Gaara was her patient. "He's okay—very healthy, actually… He's just very angry."

909

That was an understatement. Gaara was beyond angry; he was enraged. If people couldn't tell by his face, they could tell by his hospital room. People would believe him if he claimed there was a tornado in there.

He couldn't accept this. His pride was shattered, damnit. Kabuto was one sneaky bastard and had left him lying on the ground like an invalid. F**k that! If Sasuke hadn't killed him first, he would've. Oh yeah, he would've, and not in a quick way.

He had learned his lesson; he would never get drunk again. _'Should've listened to Naruto_.

909

Ryu managed to sleep through the night till morning. Naruto? Not so much. His mind kept replaying the terror he felt when he thought Kabuto was going to kill Ryu. It would take quite some time to completely bury the emotional memory.

Ryu stirred, then rubbed his eyes and smiled at Naruto.

"Ohaiyo, Dada."

"O-o-ohaiyo."

"What's for breakfast, Dada? I'm so, so hungry. Can we have onigiri, please?"

_Oh yeah, we both skipped dinner last night._

"Sure-tebba!" Naruto mustered up a smile. Ryu was in his usual cheerful mood. Maybe he forgot… Or maybe it was the calm before the storm.

They ate breakfast like nothing earth-shattering had happened. Only after they had finished having breakfast and Ryu mentioned his school (Hurry, Dada, we're gonna be late!) did he freeze.

And cried and cried—he'd just remembered what happened yesterday.

Naruto used every single excuse he knew to calm him down. Nothing worked. He only calmed a bit when he promised to bring him to hospital, even though they probably wouldn't get to see anybody, especially Sasuke—he would still be in the intensive unit—but if that made Ryu stop crying, he would camp at the hospital if he had to.

"Let's go."

909

They sat waiting outside of the room. They weren't allowed to visit. Nobody was allowed to visit, but that was not reason enough to make Ryu want to leave. Naruto tried to persuade him to leave by mentioning Gaara, but to his disappointment, Gaara was discharged last night.

So, they waited until Sakura appeared.

"You two came." She looked at Ryu. "Sorry, honey, but Uchiha-sensei is still sick. I can't—"

Ryu looked crestfallen. Naruto gave Sakura a begging look. She sighed.

"Okay, let me check first. Then I'll let you see him for five minutes, but you must not tell anybody, alright?"

Ryu's smile was worth the trouble.

Sakura went into the room, checking Sasuke's vital readings and whatnot, but then he began to thrash again. Sakura yelled for help, but like she had predicted, nobody was available. Desperate, she dragged Naruto in to help her.

"Hold him; don't let him move!"

"Sasuke? What happened to him?"

"Uchiha-sensei?" Ryu squawked. He sounded scared.

Shit. She'd forgotten about the small child in her panic. He was not supposed to see this.

"Uchiha-sensei! Uchiha-sensei!"

"Naruto, tell him to be quiet."

"Shh, shh, Ryu. He's gonna be okay. Uchiha-sensei's gonna be okay. Sasuke's gonna be okay."

Sasuke stopped thrashing.

"See? He's gonna be okay. He was just… just…"

"He was just having a nightmare." There was awe in Sakura's voice. "And now he's calmed down."

"Is he gonna die?"

"No, he's not, sweetie. He's just—just sleeping."

Ryu looked spooked, but he came closer to the bed. _Brave boy._

"Can I touch him?"

Sakura looked at Naruto, who was still holding Sasuke's arm.

"Can he, Sakura?"

Sakura nodded.

"Come here, Ryu. Here." Ryu came closer to Naruto and grabbed one of Sasuke's fingers. He sniffed tentatively.

With watery eyes, he told his Dada, "He's hurt. I can smell him."

Naruto held his son close. They stayed that way for some time, letting Ryu have his fill.

Five minutes was up.

"Ryu, I think we have to leave. Auntie Sakura said just for five minutes."

"No, it's okay. I think you can stay. I mean, I think you should stay. He… Just stay here until I come back, okay?"

909

Naruto looked at Sakura walking out the door.

So what the f'ck he was supposed to do now?

Naruto looked around. He noticed there was a chair near the window—standard hospital chair—and dragged the chair near to the bed. If he had to wait here, he'd better sit down. Hauling Ryu onto his lap, they both occupied the chair, waiting.

Ryu had stopped crying for awhile now. Knowing that Sasuke was not dying was good enough to put him in a better mood. He looked content, sitting on Naruto's lap, tracing invisible designs on Sasuke's palm with his finger, humming to himself.

Feeling guilty for being jealous that Ryu was holding his rival's hand so freely, Naruto tried not to look at those hands. He looked at Sasuke's prone body instead. If Naruto hadn't known that Sasuke was actually stabbed by Kabuto, he would have said that Sasuke was just sleeping with a hospital gown on.

He looked…well, restful albeit paler than usual—he must have lost a lot of blood. No wounds to indicate that he was in a fight but Naruto knew he would find a deep, angry gash if he turned Sasuke and looked at his back. Why Sakura let him lie on his back Naruto wasn't sure. Didn't it hurt to use his back like that? Well, it must be alright since Sakura let him.

_Why did this guy…_

Ryu fidgeting cut off his monologue.

"What is it Ryu? Toilet?"

"No. I'm…bored."

No one had ever said Ryu can sit still for long. If Naruto had said that, he was obviously lying.

Ryu started to wriggle restlessly—Ryu really, really wanted to wait here until Uchiha-sensei woke up but he was bored. Truly, he was concern about his sensei but bored was bored—so Naruto put him down. He moved around the room, touching everything his hand could reach with so much bounce as only 4 years old could.

"No, don't touch things Ryu. Aunt Sakura'll get angry." Naruto said while stifling his yawn; he was sleep deprived. And watching Sasuke slept? That made him even sleepier.

Ryu immediately stopped touching at the mention of Sakura; Aunt Sakura was scary when she was angry.

"Butttt, I'm bored Dada…"

"Uh-huh.." Naruto eyelids had started to droop.

"Yeah, I know! I'll practise my fire jutsu-tebba! Hehe.."

"Fire jut…hey!!!"

Naruto lounged to grab Ryu's fingers.

"No no no. No fire jutsu. We're in hospital. No fire jutsu in hospital, okay?"

"But why?"

"Why? Hmm…because we might accidently burn things and that's bad."

"Okay…but I'm bored and I want to practise. I know. Clone jutsu!"

_Ryu can do clone jutsu? Do they teach that at day care centre? That's kinda early…_

"Hmm, okay. Let me see." Naruto smiled.

Ryu made the proper hand signs and walla! A perfect clone of Ryu appeared.

"That's great Ryu. I didn't know you can do that. Why didn't you tell me? I'd have helped you practise."

"Really? Dada'd help me? I thought Dada'll be angry if I tell Dada. Dada was angry about the kunai."

_I wasn't angry, I was just worried,_ was what Naruto wanted to say. He forgot that Ryu could pick his emotion by sniffing. He must have been angry too when he discovered Sasuke had been coaching Ryu kunai throwing if Ryu said so.

"I'm not angry now." He smiled. His son was so eager to learn. "What jutsu has Ryu learned?"

"He he he…I can do the fire jutsu. It's called Mythical Fire Flower. It's really hard to do at first but Uchiha-sensei practised with me, now it's easy. And—and I can light a fire using my finger. It's like a lighter but awesomer. Oh, and—and the bushin too. Uchiha-sensei said that Dada can do awesome bunshin jutsu."

Ryu was now looking at Naruto with admiration in his eyes. Naruto knew Ryu loved him but blatant admiration in his eyes? Naruto blushed and melt to a puddle of goo.

"Of course I teach you-tebbayo but kage bunshin is too early for you. I'll teach you other awesome jutsus, okay? Now, tell me, where did you learn all that?"

Ryu cheerfully told all of his adventures with Sasuke: their time spent together after school, his birthday present—the Mythical Fire Flower, Sasuke teaching him basic ninja skills and many more. Now that he knew his Dada wouldn't be upset for keeping all of these secrets, he spilled it all.

At that point did Naruto realize how Sasuke had become a major part of Ryu's life. If only he could also realize that he had become a major part of Sasuke's life too (if not all).

909

It was almost lunch time but Sakura still hadn't come back, not that they had noticed though. Naruto was pre-occupied teaching Ryu how to properly control his chakra. They practised chakra training together and generally forgot that hours had fly between them. It was a satisfying experience; he got to practise, he got to be with his son and all the while keeping an eye on Sasuke.

Sakura finally poked her head at half past twelve. She smiled knowingly when she saw the duo sitting Indian style on the floor.

"Sorry! Got held up. Thanks guy for…" she gestured her hand at Sasuke, "how he's doing?"

"He's sleeping." Naruto dead-panned. Was Sasuke supposed to wake up or something?

"Really? He didn't stir or anything?"

"If he did I didn't notice."

"That's…good, I guess. I'm afraid he'll start thrashing again because I haven't given him any drug today. And that is a good thing. Very good thing"

"Really? Er…hey Sakura-chan. I think we'll go now. Ryu is probably hungry. Lunch time, you know."

"Leave? No, no you can't leave. I mean, I'll buy you guys lunch. How about that? What do you want to eat Ryu?"

"Hmm, I want okonomiyaki(4)!!"

"Okay, be right back." And then she was gone.

"Hey, what about me?"

Ryu laughed at him.

"You're laughing at me, aren't cha? I'll show you laugh." Naruto tickled his son—Ryu laughed hysterically, tears ran down his cheek—until Ryu begged him to stop.

Ten minutes after that, Sakura came back.

"That was fast." Naruto was impressed.

"I have my way." The way she smiled, it must be something evil.

Naruto decided he didn't want to know. He rather concentrated on the ramen she bought for him. _Hmm…delicious._ Sakura (and any other person for that matter) knew what he wanted to eat.

They ate their lunch in relative silent. Sometimes, Ryu would speak with his mouth full to tell Sakura what he had done all morning. Sakura pretended listening to him while checking up on Sasuke.

"So, err…Sakura-chan. You said five minutes but we've been here for hours. We better go, ne? He doesn't suppose to have visitor, right?"

"Yeah, about that, do you mind waiting here until he wakes up?"

"When he's going to wake up? We've been here since morning, he didn't even stir. He sleeps like the dead."

"Well, you know he lost a lot of blood, yeah? His chakra level is low too and his spine injury? That takes time to heal. We're lucky we have the best medical nin in our hands or he might be paralyzed from waist down. I told you last night, we almost lost him; his injury is really serious."

_Okay, but what that has anything to do with me being here?_

Sakura saw the confusion on Naruto's face. She cleared her throat before starting her explanation.

"Actually, we'd like him to stay asleep for a couple more days…for reciprocations, you know. If he's asleep, there'll be less damage to the stitches. Well…the thing is, Sasuke-kun keeps having nightmares and thrashing in his sleep. We can't keep re-stitch his wounds. That brings more damage than necessary."

_Okay, and…?_ Naruto still didn't see the connection.

"We can give him drugs to keep the nightmare at bay but he's already heavily meditated. Extra drugs can cause OD."

"Uh-huh."

"But, he's not having nightmares when you're here."

"What? Nah…that can't be true. What make you said that?"

"He's been sleeping peacefully for four hours straight."

"That doesn't say anything. Maybe—maybe he's having nightmare only at night, not in the morning."

"No, I can assure you, he's having it constantly. You were here this morning to stop his thrashing, remember?"

"Okayyyy, but that was just…I don't know, coincidence?"

"You don't believe me? Okay, let's do some experiments, shall we?"

Sakura stopped speaking. She seemed to be thinking about something. Naruto looked at her with dread. His instinct told him that this was not gonna be good.

"How about this? Let's go the paediatric hospital. Come Ryu."

"The pae…what?"

"Paediatric. Children hospital."

"What? Something wrong with my Ryu?"

"No. Just follow me. I want to prove something to you."

They left the room. Sakura talked to one of the nurse that was standing nearby.

"Noe, could you stay with Uchiha-san for awhile. If anything, call me immediately, okay?"

Noe was just too happy to stay with her crush and said yes immediately.

909

The paediatric unit was in a different block from the emergency unit. Paediatric unit had their own play centre that Ryu didn't waste any time to join.

The two adults sat at the nearby plastic chairs where they could watch Ryu played with other kids. Ryu looked happy playing with kids around his age; he was still just a kid after all even with his advance ninja knowledge.

"Okay, Sakura-chan, spill. What's this about?"

Sakura took a deep breath. If she knew her friend, he was not going to like what she was about to say. "Alright Naruto. I'm gonna be straight to you," she paused. "I believe you've a calming effect on Sasuke-kun. He needs _you_ to be able to er…sleep peacefully."

"Wha--"

"Before you say anything let me explain. I've talked to Tsunade-sensei while you waited in Sasuke's room. She also agrees with me. This is a physcology thing. I don't know the exact explanation but I guessed it has something to do with the last thing he saw before he collapsed."

Naruto looked at Sakura for a long moment.

"Sakura-chan I think you're really smart, you know that, right? But I think you're wrong this time. I can't be…" Naruto moved his hand wildly, "you know. I barely restrain myself from killing him myself. If anything, I'm his angry button."

"I know you won't believe me easily. Just…wait. But if I'm right, you stay with him. How about that?"

"Okay. Cause I'm 100 percent sure you're wrong-tebba!"

Sakura just gave him a knowing grin.

They waited there and talked. It had been awhile since they talked like this. It was nice to catch up.

They were like that for two hours or so until Sakura's pager beeped.

"We got to go, Naruto. Hurry."

"Wait. Ryu…"

"Leave him here. There're people that'll look after him. Come on, we must hurry."

"You go first, I'll go talk to Ryu for a moment. He'll wonder where I am."

909

When Naruto reached Sasuke's hospital room, they were four other people beside Sakura holding him down.

"Hurry, Naruto!

"What? What do you want me to do?"

"Hold his hand. Talk to him. Whatever you can think of."

Naruto crept closer. He tentatively lifted Sasuke's hand. _Oh shit, why me._

"Hey bastard. If you don't stop thrashing, I'm gonna kick your arse."

Sasuke still thrashing but he was slowing down.

"Don't think I won't do because you're sick. You hear me, Sasuke? Stop moving, asshole! Be a good jerk and stay still, will ya?" Naruto hit Sasuke's arm with a punch.

There was a collective gasp around the bed but Sasuke had stopped thrashing so nobody thrown Naruto out of the room.

"You can be gentler, you know. He's injured."

"No way. Bastard deserves it."

Sakura thanked the helpers and ushered them out of the room. She turned back to Naruto who was still holding Sasuke's hand; he looked like a deer caught on headlight.

"So, you'll stay right?" That sounded like a question where in truth it was a statement.

_Oh shit. I forgot about that. I'm doomed, am I? Shit, goddammit!_

"Sakura-chan. Arrr…you see. I have work and-and other things to do. I can't stay here all the time. It's--"

"That's already taken care of. When I went to talk to Tsunade-sensei, she already settled everything. Take this as a B-class mission. You'll get paid if that what you worry about."

"B-class mission? That's not like Ba-chan. She's stingy and that's a lot for--"

"Yeah, yeah. I know. But the Councils insist. They'll do anything to see their Golden Boy healthy."

"He's really that important, huh?"

"He's an Uchiha, Naruto. What do you think? We got tons of requests for works when people found out he's come back. The greedy Old Geezers want it to stay that way. He's a really good promotion material." _He should be a model or something._

"Wow, never knew this bastard is this important."

"Me neither. Guess the Uchiha clan really _is _something. He's like, I don't know, a celebrity, I guess."

Naruto was quiet, still processing the newest information in his head.

Sakura turned to leave. She had worked from last night non-stop and had yet to have some rest. Except from the chatting session with Naruto at paediatric, she had been on her foot all the time. She needed to lie down.

"Hey, Sakura-chan. Can I let go of his hand now?"

She laughed.

909

Finished this chapter. Yosh!

Alright, this is important. Many have thought that SLO 3 was the announcement. It's not. SLO 3 was about Sasuke's relationship with Ryu. Notice that he's teaching Ryu things and generally being friendly with his son.

And the subtitle? Don't be fooled. I put it as a subtitle for a reason. Ahahah.

1) Political issue. Temari becoming a Konoha citizen will surely make a big impact.

2) I'm no expert about Bon Odori.

3) PSA – Public Service Announcement

4) Okonomiyaki – a type of food. I say it looks a lot like omelet with tons of things in it

Next chapter

**Chapter 14: Sometimes the Hearts Know What the Mind Don't.**


	17. Sometimes Heart knows what Mind Doesnt

**Disclaimer: **Naruto characters are not mine. Pardon me for borrowing it.

A slow SasuNaru story (so be patient).

**I'd like to thanks the reviewers. You might not know this but, you guys are the one who shaping up this story. The reviews are not just 'Please update soon' review either. They are really good and nice reviews too. All authors deserve reviewers like you guys. THANKS.**

**This is the edited version. You guys should totally read this version because it's much, much, much better. I was like, hey, that's sounds nicer! Hehehe…lets all thanks Obscure Omen for that.**

**Chapter 14: Sometimes the Heart Knows What the Mind Doesn't**

909

He must have done something terrible to be punished this way. Being forced to watch Sasuke's sleeping form for 24 hours was torture. He couldn't leave Sasuke for long. Aside from toilet breaks and a shower, he stayed in the room.

He even slept there. The hospital staff had rearranged the room so that they all—he, Sasuke, and Ryu—could fit. The room had officially become his second house for the last two nights.

Every three hours a nurse would come to check on Sasuke's condition. Sometimes, they looked at Naruto questioningly. Sometimes there were "knowing" looks on their faces. But most of the time, the looks were mixed with envy and… jealousy. (To set the record straight, all the nurses were female.)

It didn't take a rocket scientist to know what the nurses thought of them—they must have thought that Sasuke and Naruto were an item.

If they had any doubts that Sasuke and Naruto were together before, now they had no reason to believe that they were not engaged… or something. Because, let's face it, what other conclusion could be inferred from this situation? All the "evidence" pointed to one "conclusion"; Naruto was staying by Sasuke's side, even sleeping here every night, taking care of him, and whatnot—he was playing the part of the doting wife.

If that didn't make them seem like they were a loving couple, nothing would.

Naruto was clearly not happy.

He knew he was labeled the "wife." He knew because he heard them. Those gossip-mongers. They talked loud enough that Naruto didn't need to be a ninja to overhear them. Adding in the fact that he _was_ a ninja… Well, let's just say that he heard it all.

If only they stopped at that. Oh, no, they didn't. He couldn't believe how many gestures, jokes, and looks with "gay" innuendos he had to endure from the hospital staff. If he had to hear or see another one tonight…. _I'll eat hospital attendants for breakfast._

Naruto threw a vicious look in Sasuke's direction. Even in his sleep, this guy could make his life miserable. That was a skill, for sure. Nobody had ever managed to piss Naruto off just by sleeping. He was going to give that bastard a gooood punch in the face for putting him in this kind of situation as soon as he opened his eyes.

This was all Sasuke's fault.

The bastard always wanted to play hero; this was the third time. Didn't he know that by doing _this_, he made Naruto's feelings go haywire? He was scared. He was stunned. He was worried. He was afraid. He was guilty. He was grateful. He was angry. And…he felt something _pink,_ that, for the love of God, he could not decipher.

Goddammit, and he hated pink, too; he liked orange! And this was all Sasuke's fault; he made him think pink was some kind of emotion.

_Damn Sasuke to hell._

Frustrated, Naruto wondered if people would notice if he killed Sasuke in his sleep. They were alone; Ryu was at school.

_Just me and the Sleeping Beauty_(1)_. 'Wonder if he'd wake up if I kissed him?_

Naruto blinked several times and shook his head once.

_Where the hell did that come from? I must be more tired than I thought._

Naruto looked everywhere but at Sasuke's pale lips. His face was a shade pinker than it was several minutes ago.

909

Tsunade came to visit on the third night. She looked tired and haggard and, well… her age—the real one. It must have taken a lot of work to control the damage. In fact, to prove that point, she had come straight from the "interrogation room," meaning that she had just finished interrogating Kabuto.

Apparently, Kabuto was still alive.

According to Tsunade, Sasuke wasn't able to complete his jutsu before he collapsed. So, basically, Kabuto was almost-dead, but not exactly dead. Not yet, that is.

Lucky Kabuto. Or not-so-lucky Kabuto. 'Depends on which side you're on.

Naruto was impressed Kabuto was still alive. It just proved that Kabuto _was _some kind of cockroach; they were a hard bunch to kill. Still, he was also dying to know if Baa-san knew the reason for the attack, but Tsunade just busied herself with checking over Sasuke's wounds and took her own sweet time doing a high-level healing jutsu on Sasuke again. She clearly didn't want to discuss it.

Though, she did nod her head in satisfaction after she'd finished her inspection.

"He's gonna be fine. But he'll need about two to three months of rest before he can move freely again. How has he been doing so far? Any more nightmares?"

All eyes were on Naruto: Tsunade's, Sakura's, and Ryu's.

"Err… He's just been sleeping. Sometimes he groans and moves his fingers, but that's it."

Tsunade nodded at that. She appeared to be thinking of something, face contemplative, but she kept her silence.

"What do you think, Tsunade-sama?" Sakura had her own opinion, but it didn't hurt to hear what Tsunade-sensei's assessment was.

"His back is healing nicely. We can stop giving him the heavy medication. He shouldn't have any problem dealing with the pain now if we give him lighter ones." Tsunade smiled at Ryu. "That means that Uchiha-sensei will wake up soon."

"Thank you, Oba-chan!" Ryu hugged Tsunade.

"Yes! I can go home now-tebbayo." Naruto was relieved.

"Ahhh, not so fast. I think it safer if you stay with him. He'll wake up once we take him off the harder drugs, but he'll be drowsy most of the time. I've no doubt he'll still be having his nightmares."

"No way! No! Way! I don't want to sit here like an idiot for… how long's he gonna be like that, again?"

"From the looks of it, about two to three months."

"Crap, no! That's too darn long. No way!"

909

"Tsunade-sensei, are you sure about this? I don't think Naruto needs to stay with Sasuke-kun for that long. A few weeks, maybe, but three months? That's… unnecessary," Sakura said when they had finally escaped Naruto's scream-fest.

"Well, about that. Can you fetch Shikamaru for me, please? Then, meet me at my office in…" She looked at her watch. "… Make that tomorrow morning. I want to discuss something with you two first thing tomorrow morning."

Tsunade then used her thumb and index finger to pinch the bridge of her nose, looking tired and wary. She must have a lot on her mind; Sakura didn't envy her.

Sakura was curious about the meeting, but she wouldn't ask. It was late, and both of them were not in any condition to discuss anything. Tomorrow morning would come too soon, anyway.

909

"Tsunade-sama, I've been under the impression that I'm off duty for two weeks. So why am _I_ here?"

"Yeah, yeah, you newlyweds're gonna die if you're separated for a sec. I'll send you back to your wife after a few minutes. Don't be so grouchy. At least _you _get laid regularly, so shut up and make yourself comfortable there."

Face turning red, Shikamaru was smart enough not to retort. If he did, he'd be teased non-stop by Tsunade and Sakura just for being a newlywed. He had had enough teasing for the past few days to last a lifetime, thankyouverymuch.

Soon, the three of them—Tsunade, Sakura, and Shikamaru—were sitting comfortably on the sofa in Tsunade's office.

Two expectant eyes were looking at Tsunade intently. Her own tired eyes focused on her clasped fingers.

"I wish Kakashi were here with us; his input would be useful." She sighed. "Never mind that. The three of us will make do. Alright, you must be dying to know why you're here." She grinned humorlessly. "You're here because I want your input on Naruto and the Uchiha." In a more serious tone, she said, "What do you think of them? Being together?"

She looked at the two of them, waiting for their reactions. Both faces were blank. They turned at each other for clues.

"Together? 'You mean like _together_ together or…"

"I mean like a real couple. A couple-who-shares-one-family-name couple. A serious pairing, to put it concisely."

"So, what you're saying is you're turning into a gay-marriage supporter now?" Shikamaru was genuinely confused. He didn't mean for that question to be intrusive or offensive. He just didn't know what to make of Tsunade's sudden interest in Sasuke and Naruto's being together.

Hmm, that wasn't quite right. She did have quite an interest, but that was just because she hated Sasuke and hated Sasuke's messing with Naruto's life even more. So, she kept her eyes open on the two's developments. But, for her to suddenly call him and Sakura to discuss this, Shikamaru sensed trouble. And _that_ was just great. More troublesome things were coming his way—as if getting married _and _ambushed weren't enough.

Tsunade looked at him sharply. "Don't be a smart-ass with me, pineapple head. I don't need that kinda attitude right now."

"I'd say they are… good together." Sakura was forced to throw out her opinion since Tsunade looked like she was going to strangle Shikamaru if the silence continued.

"You think so?" Tsunade gave her a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry I drag you into this, Sakura. Insensitive, I know, since you… like the Uchiha brat, but… nobody knows them like you do."

"I'm… surprisingly fine with it. Really, I don't mind. Like I said, they are good together. I secretly think they like each other, too. I'd be kicked by a horse if I tried to get in between." Her laughter soon dissolved into giggles.

"You _really_ do want to know about them getting _together, _don't you? 'You sure you're not on wedding fever or something like that?"

"Shikamaru. One more time, and I…"

"Okay. Sorry. I'm just checking." He paused there, seeming to collect his thoughts. "I'm not sure about Naruto, but Sasuke's serious. I thought he was jerking Naruto around at first, but he's… serious. I've got to disagree with Sakura, though. I think he secretly likes Naruto."

"What do you mean, disagree with me? That's the same—"

"So it's like that," Tsunade cut her off. She sighed wearily. "Are you both sure about this?"

From the corner of his eyes, he could see that Sakura was frowning. Shikamaru deduced that she wanted to nod her head "yes" but was afraid that her answer would somehow bring unwanted consequences to Sasuke and Naruto.

Because, like Shikamaru—who was as sure as grass is green—Sakura hadn't a clue of what Tsunade was up to, asking them these awkward questions.

Maybe Tsunade had drunk too much saké. Who knew?

"Are you or are you not?" At the lack of responses, Tsunade felt she ought to repeat her question, although that didn't give her any answers, either. She sighed tiredly. She knew her subordinates too well; they wanted an explanation. She had hoped she'd never get to that. This was her theory only, and she wasn't even that sure about it; she was reluctant to share such an unfounded theory. Still, both of them wouldn't blindly answer her without knowing anything at all.

The one downside of having smart subordinates.

"I'm not supposed to tell anyone about this, but… the Council is not happy with some recent… developments. They worry about Sasuke's attention toward Naruto, to put it formally. And the incident that just happened? It's left them paranoid. The only reason they let Naruto stay with Sasuke now is because of medical reasons."

Tsunade paused and looked intently at them both. Satisfied that they were giving her and her explanation their undivided attention, she continued:

"I don't know what they'll do next, but I can guarantee that they will eventually take drastic measures that even I can't do anything about." _Especially now that the Third and Jiraiya are gone._ "I'm sure you can guess what they'll do to separate them without killing anyone."

"Exile…" they both breathed at the same time.

"Yes. For them, Naruto's a time-bomb because of the Kyuubi. Though many villagers have warmed up to him, the Council hasn't and might never. I guess it's because they're old, and… they don't like change. And now that the time-bomb has tried to blow up their favorite toy, they're gonna get more aggressive about it."

"Soooo…. you want them to be together so that if Naruto does get exiled, Sasuke will follow him and in turn make the Council accept him back into the village."

"Because Sasuke-kun's too precious a treasure to lose."

Tsunade smiled for the first time that week. "I knew I didn't have to spell it out for you two. So, now. Branch out."

909

According to Sakura-chan, they had to sedate Sasuke a bit heavier today than usual 'cause they had to move him a lot to transfer him from the hospital to his house. He had gotten a lot better compared to a few days ago and was discharged. Now, he had to stay at home for his recovery for about two to three months, four months top.

He couldn't move. Actually, he wasn't allowed to move. He'd have to be bedridden until the wound completely closed up and healed. Even after that, he was only allowed to walk in his room for only 30 minutes at a time, limited to three times a day.

Naturally, somebody else had to take care of him; to feed him, bathe him, assist him to bathroom, and generally treat him like a big, grouchy baby.

And that somebody would be Naruto.

Mind you, he didn't volunteer. Nuh-uh. Some could say he was _forced_ to be thepaid volunteer. Tsunade made it clear (_really_ clear) that he was the perfect "somebody" to take care of Sasuke _and _keep him away from his nightmares simultaneously.

Naruto was not happy with that order. Not happy at all, _but_ he accepted it. He accepted it because it's not human to abandon your injured savior. Plus, he was clearly injured from saving you. Naruto was many things, but heartless wasn't one of them.

So, here he was, in the Uchiha Mansion, in Sasuke's bedroom (he noticed it was not the same room he was in the last time he was there), sitting at Sasuke's bedside, guarding him. Okay, not "guarding," exactly, he was… looking after him.

They had transferred him here after breakfast, and now it was nearly midnight. Between those hours, the Uchiha just slept. He woke only once, groggy and in quite a bit in pain; Naruto managed to feed him some soup, assist him to the bathroom, and finally let him sleep some more. Sasuke was probably not aware about what was going on around him, 'cause the medicine was still in his system. He probably wouldn't wake up again before night's end.

Sakura and Tsunade had stayed for a while after they transferred him to brief Naruto on "care and maintenance" for the third time. They should have written a manual, given the way they worried about things. You'd think they'd let a nurse or something come to help Naruto, based on this worry, but noooo, that'd cost too much—Tsunade's exact words.

Scrooges. All of them. So, in the end, he was in this alone.

Well, you've got to do what you've got to do.

The first time Naruto had had the chance to scope the mansion, he'd thought that he'd struggle a bit to find things in the house and literally had to learn his way around the house by himself. He was really surprised, though, that Ryu was actually very familiar with the place—he actually knew where Sasuke kept his salt, and he obviously had his own room in the mansion.

That made him start thinking about just how often had they spent time together and how close the two actually were. He might've felt angry, sad, and threatened, say… a few days ago by this realization, but not now. Maybe not ever again.

Because, well, he had been thinking since… since the Bon festival night. Okay, he had not really _thought_ about anything but that night, when he _instinctually_ accepted something; it was the subconscious part of him that saw, heard, observed, and finally came to a conclusion.

It was safe to say that something changed that night regarding Naruto's view of Ryu and his other father's relationship. Don't misunderstand him, though. He wouldn't encourage them to spend time together or anything like that, but if Sasuke wanted to, he was not going to be defensive about it. He… well, this was hard to explain, but y'know the vicious feeling that had always accused Sasuke of trying to take Ryu away from him? Yeah, that; it wasn't there anymore.

Him. And Sasuke. _They_ were Ryu's parents. It was plain to see that night that Sasuke would have never hurt their child, and he obviously wanted Ryu to have both parents. Which also meant that he didn't have any intention of taking Ryu away from Naruto.

They were all family. In Sasuke-and-Naruto terms, maybe this didn't apply, but for Ryu, it did—even if he didn't know it.

Yes, it was a strange feeling, trusting Ryu in Sasuke's care, but, yeah…

He finally understood Sasuke's adamant behavior to be close to Ryu. It all made sense now—he wanted to be a good _parent_ to Ryu. Naruto had this mindset from the start about how Sasuke would react if he ever found out—he'd take Ryu away from him because he was not fit to be a good parent—and, truthfully, Naruto had never seen that coming.

Honestly, how he could expect Sasuke to react in… _that_ way? He was supposed to be a living ice-cube. Not this—this… caring man who let Ryu sit on his shoulders and smiled and laughed (okay, maybe it wasn't _laughing_ laughing, but something like that; Naruto didn't know what it was called) at Ryu's every joke.

That night, his anger toward Sasuke had ebbed some, just enough that he didn't feel like smacking Sasuke on the spot every single time their eyes met. Naruto suspected that was when the pink… arghh… he didn't really want to think about that—that _thing_.

Really, when—if—he thought about that, he'd become embarrassed. But rather than become embarrassed—because embarrassment was such an alien emotion to him—he'd rather focus on a rather familiar emotion: anger. And he almost always—if not all the time—directed it to the person who caused the weird emotion in the first place: Sasuke.

Now that he thought about this, he had to examine it. Had this only happened recently, or was this the other reason—apart from Ryu—he was always angry with Sasuke for these past few months? Oh man, if this were somehow true, had he been missing something here? Was this the same reason he was disappointed when Sasuke said he didn't love him and just wanted him as his baby factory?

_Stop it, ME!_ Naruto chided himself.

He was thinking too much; thinking made him realize things, so, logically, he should stop—ignorance was bliss in this case. Granted, he was rarely in a thinking mood, but the atmosphere—silent, serene, with Ryu already asleep in his room and only a sleeping Sasuke as his companion—drew him into his own thoughts.

Also, the fact that trying _not_ to think about something only makes you think about it _more_ seemed to apply. In Naruto's case, it was with the pink thing.

He had this horrible suspicion that the pink thingy grew a bit stronger—more obvious—after Sasuke's heroic stunt; the heroic stunt that changed e-ve-ry-thing. Unlike at the Bon festival night, his _conscious_ finally saw, heard, observed, and recognized on the wedding day: Sasuke protecting him, them; Sasuke almost dying, because of him, them.

Sasuke might say that his body moved on his own _again_, but still, Sasuke's suicidal rescue attempt was a big turnover for whatever Naruto had originally thought about him. _That _and the pink feeling.

_That pink feeling… What the hell?_

Right. What. The. Hell.

He didn't even know what the hell it was supposed to be, thus the color-labeling. It seemed to fit. It wasn't blue, or yellow. Not even orange. Definitely pink. No "maybe" about it. 'Might be because he was reminded of Sakura during those days when he had a crush on her.

But honestly, he didn't want to explore why the heck that pink feeling reminded him so much of old crush. Why? Well, it was like saying that he somehow, in a bizarre kind of way, had an inkling of feeling of… _something_ toward Sasuke, the way he had toward Sakura.

Which absolutely couldn't be true. Definitely. Uh-uh. No good. That couldn't be a good thing ifit _were_ true because…

_Because, _damn it. That was just wrong. He was not supposed to feel that way. Not just because they were guys, but because the guy was Sasuke! Hello, eternal rival here!

.

.

.

Right, he—he shouldn't dwell on this too much. He should just—just ignore that pink thing. Cover it. Stomp on it. Bury it. Anything.

Sasuke _might_ think it was okay for guys to be together because _he_ had a goal to achieve, but Naruto was… hell, he wasn't comfortable, okay? He'd never thought himself as gay before. He was attracted to girls! Although he _was_ obsessed with Sasuke half of the time, that hardly meant anything.

And—and even if—if there _was_… something, he just wasn't convinced.

He wasn't convinced that this feeling, whatever it was, was real, no matter how confusing it was. He wasn't even sure if it was supposed to exist between guys. And—and he knew without a doubt that Sasuke didn't feel anything like this—he said so himself. Naruto had asked—and that made what he felt all the more wrong.

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. And kinda pathetic, really.

_But_, if he looked at it from the positive side, the fact that Sasuke didn't _feel_ anything was a good thing for him, right? At least there'd be nothing to nurture this pink thingy (whatever it was) into something… else. Because, if it did—morph to something else, that is—Naruto wasn't sure he could keep his life's foundation solid; he'd be all shaken up.

He had lived all his life believing that boys were paired up with girls and anything other than that was frowned upon.

_Maybe I am a sick moron for even thinking this way. If he knew about this, he'd probably kill me. Lucky for me, he's still sleeping._

Feeling disgusted with himself for having such thoughts, Naruto prepared for sleep; he hoped it would help him erase all his troubled thoughts.

But, as if he'd heard Naruto, Sasuke began to wake up. Naruto watched him, unsure of what to do; he was just about to lie on his bed—by bed he meant the futon he'd laid down besides Sasuke's bed—he wasn't prepared to face a very conscious Sasuke.

909

Sasuke felt like he had slept for a week and his conscience—which he finally regained—insisted that he wake up, now! His fingers felt rigid. So were his toes. And his legs. And his arms. And his… Well, he felt rigid all over.

Nevertheless, he wasn't panicked. He had been in this condition far too many times to be panicked. He knew he had somehow gotten hurt—quite badly, he'd have to say, since he felt like he had slept for days; that could only mean he _had_ been in bed for days—but his mind couldn't supply the reason for it yet. Give him five or ten minutes, and he'd remember everything.

Still, that didn't mean he couldn't look around to check his surroundings. Carefully, Sasuke opened his eyes. It was dark, but not so dark that everything was completely black. Someone had left a bedside lamp on, and the moonlight outside kept the visibility in the room manageable. His neck felt stiff, so no turning around. He had to be satisfied with just staring at the ceiling for now. He recognized that ceiling; it was his. This was his newly constructed bedroom.

He was glad; at least he was home. The doctor must have deemed he was healthy enough to be discharged. His back gave him slight pain when he tried to move his upper body, but it must be healing nicely. If he could guess correctly, Kabuto had sliced him pretty well; not dying was a good sign.

Ahh… Now he remembered. He had gotten injured during Shikamaru's wedding. That bastard Kabuto tried to kill his—his… family. Naruto and his Ryu. He knew he was stupid to just jump like that and unintentionally became a human version of a pincushion, but… it was what he felt at that moment; even if his logic screamed "no," he was still going to do it however many times he had to.

He recalled that at the moment he saw Kabuto try to slice Naruto in two, he couldn't help but imagine Naruto dead. Bloody and soulless—it was like seeing his parents' dead bodies all over again. And, oh God, what a horrible image that was. The image was pure pain; it made his life turn pure black for a second. It was like his soul had been sucked out of him. In that mere second, it was like everything in him was void of everything, and the only thing left was a black hole.

And _that_ waswhat made him run to Naruto and become a pincushion. Being cut had hurt, but he had been too blinded with fury to even notice it. In his rage, he had used that jutsu. The jutsu was meant to torture and _then_ kill. Sasuke was never big on torture, but this time he made an exception.

Though, if he thought carefully, the jutsu was too cruel, even for Kabuto. Unfortunately, his thoughts had been on other things. He knew he was hurt badly and quite possibly could've died from the injury, so risking his life by using the justu was pushing things too far. Still, it was Kabuto's fault; he was stupid enough to try and hurt Sasuke's family. That kind of person deserves equal punishment.

The moment he had heard Kabuto tortured screams, however, he'd collapsed. He couldn't take the simultaneous pain and extreme chakra depletion, for long. After that, his conscious tried to leave him, but first, he had needed to make sure that Naruto was alive.

_Yes, he's alive. He's safe. _Even though he had been half-conscious, he could hear Naruto's worried voice. But, what rung clear in his head was that Naruto was safe. They were safe. They didn't die.

He could've died happy and satisfied at that time. He knew he could've died from the attack, but he wasn't so hung up on that matter. Him dying was actually a better situation. Because, if it were the other way around—with Naruto dead—he wasn't sure if he could live with the void in himself.

The last thought he'd had before the total blackness consumed him was: _if Naruto died, I'd die, too._

Now that Sasuke was conscious and not on the verge of death anymore, that particular thought shook him to the core. He was sure that was just his dying self speaking; if he had been his normal self, that kind of thinking would never surface. Even so, what did that tell him?

Sasuke felt kinda embarrassed by himself. A lot of people called him a genius. Most people agreed that he was smart and no one could honestly call him stupid, but… what kind of smart person needed to stare death in the face to understand his own feelings? Granted, he was emotionally stunted at the age of eight, but…

Nahh… He only had himself to blame. He had been so focused on family and Ryu and lust and… everything else that he didn't give himself the chance to be honest with… _himself._ He was so busy denying that he loved the Idiot that he didn't acknowledge that he was in love with him.

Maybe he deserved a smack or two. If his hands weren't being so uncooperative, he'd smack himself right now. Alas, his hands were kinda heavy, and he had better wait until, say, tomorrow, to do that.

_You are such a moron, Sasuke. _

Okay, that shouldn't make him felt better, but strangely, it did.

"Yes, you are."

"Naruto…"

He guessed he must have said that out loud. He didn't mean to, though. But, whatever, he could clarify that fact later. Now, there was a more pressing matter—Naruto was here!

"You can talk, so I guess you're all better now. At least better compared to four days ago, when _you_ tried to kill yourself by saving _me_."

"You could've died," Sasuke croaked. His throat was dry from disuse. He should have known Naruto would drill him about this. The guy didn't like being saved. Manly pride and whatnot.

"Oh, yeah? Well, here news for you, idiot: You could've, too."

Sasuke moved his head a bit so that he could look at Naruto. And what a sight that was. Naruto in his pyjamas was… homey, and Sasuke felt like he was home at last. He would have smiled at the moment, but Naruto looked… unsure—torn between anger, relief, and a need to leave. He didn't exactly seem angry, as his speech indicated, but, for a lack of better explanation, he looked disturbed.

But, disturbed or not, Sasuke was relieved to see that Naruto was well.

"—do it? If you say your body moved on its own again, I'm really gonna kick your ass."

Sasuke missed part of the question, but anybody could guess what Naruto wanted to say. It was the same question he had asked when they were on their very first A-class mission. Post-Haku.

"You could've died—"

"I know that, damnit! You don't have to kill yours—"

"If you died, I'd die, too." This time he knew the reason all too well. Not just because his body moved on his own; it was also his heart this time.

"Wha—what? Why—why do you say that?"

"Because that's the truth. I… I don't think I could keep living without you, Naruto."

"I—I think you—you're still not quite we-well. I—I'll get y-you something and—and then you can go back to sleep."

"I'm not delusional, if that what you mean. I know what I'm—"

"Right, you need to eat. I'll—I'll get something from the kitchen."

909

Naruto was running to the kitchen. He heard Sasuke call his name, but he couldn't be in the same room with Sasuke for a second longer. His hands were shaking, he was sweating, and his head was a mess.

He didn't know what to make of that confession. Yes, it sounded like a confession to Naruto. Just fifteen minutes ago, he was convincing himself that the pink feeling shouldn't, couldn't, and wouldn't exist. Now, it just transformed itself into red-hot lava, and the heat was pounding Naruto's head with such ferocity that Naruto was shaking uncontrollably. He had to grab the kitchen counter to steady himself.

This strong feeling was so scary. What was it? He was terrified. He was surprised. He was stunned. A bit elated, too. But, above all, he was spooked.

He was spooked because he… he was beginning to like another guy, wasn't he? This was it, right? He was beginning to like another guy, like_ that_. And, oh my, he was liked back, too, like_ that_.

Those were two firsts for him, actually: Somebody liked him in a romantic sense, and _he_ liked a _guy_.

So, what now? What should he do? This was wrong, wasn't it? This was totally wrong. He—he…

Oh gosh, he didn't know. He didn't know if he should do what he _should _door if he should do what he _wanted _to do, because—because, to be honest, it didn't feel all that wrong to him. Right now, he was just in awe. In awe of the fact that somebody actually _liked_ him. Liked him enough that the guy didn't mind dying for him.

That was… big. You don't get that every day. In fact, it maybe comes just about once in a lifetime.

Naruto turned on the tap and stared at the running water. The steady flow of water had a calming effect, like a cool balm to heated skin. After ten minutes of staring, he began to relax again. His hands gradually stopped shaking. His mind became a little clearer, and he began to think rationally—well, as rationally as he could.

He knew what had just happened was big. The red feeling was strong, and he was a bit heady on the confession, but was this truly… love? Make no mistake, he would bet his money on it that was that, but, come on, he had just noticed that he _might_ have feelings for the guy a few weeks ago; even if he wanted to, there was no way he could accept this easily.

One couldn't simply change his beliefs and emotions like one changes clothes.

Besides, how could he be sure? Maybe he just felt like this because he thought Sasuke was dying. Maybe it was because he was grateful and felt he needed to repay the debt. Maybe this was the first time someone went out of his way to be more than nice to him and it was overwhelming him. Maybe he just got carried away.

Man, he was scared. Talk about life-changing situations. His poor heart might explode from the pressure.

He needed time to be sure. It wouldn't be fair to Sasuke if Naruto was not exactly sure about his feelings. Maybe living together for three months would be a good thing after all.

909

Naruto finally returned to the bedroom with a bowl of porridge. He found Sasuke still lying on the bed, but his eyes were practically stapled to the door. The moment Naruto walked into the room, he tried to sit up.

Fearing that Sasuke would injure himself, Naruto quickly went to his side. He put the bowl on the nightstand and pushed Sasuke back into his original position: lying down.

"Don't even try. You'll reinjure yourself. Be stupid and I'll smack you."

"Naruto…" Sasuke was trying to get Naruto to look at him. At the moment, the blond man was busy collecting pillows.

"Here, I'll put some more pillows down to support your head."

"Naruto—" he called again, this time a little more forcefully. Naruto was deliberately avoiding making eye contact.

"Here, eat your porridge. You must be super hungry. I know I would be if I were you."

"Usuratonkachi."

"Just eat, Sasuke. I won't go anywhere."

Sasuke looked at Naruto for few moments longer. Naruto was still avoiding eye contact; he obviously didn't want to talk. Comforting himself with the fact that they would talk later and Naruto's promise that he'd still be here, Sasuke ate silently.

Naruto helped him clean his teeth after he'd finished eating. Everything was done in silence. Sasuke understood a brush-off when he saw one, and this was one. But by then, he had started to feel sleepy again. A full belly and warm bed tend to do that to most people.

And Sasuke was "most people" tonight. He slept soundly, knowing Naruto was sleeping nearby.

909

Oh gosh, this chapter was confusing as hell. I actually rewrote this dozens of time, but I think it's still confusing. Like, seriously, I don't know the right way to explain Naruto's emotional confusion. It was like, he likes him, but that's just making him angry with him because he makes him feel these weird feelings at the first place. Do you get that? No? Err…. Well, never mind.

Okay. I'm sorry for making some of you think that I'd stop this. Heh, gomen.

Next chapter:

**Chapter 15: One's Lonely, Two's a Weird Couple, and Three's a Family**

This chapter gonna be a giant ball of fluff.


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